Urinary tract infections (UTI), which are among the most frequent cases of
infectious diseases, mainly affect women. The most common treatment approach involves the use of
antibiotics, although this
solution is not always the most suitable, mainly because of the resistance that bacterial strains develop.
Proanthocyanidins are a class of
polyphenols, abundantly contained in cranberry extracts, which have shown beneficial effects in the treatment of
urinary tract infections, due to their anti-adhesive properties toward bacteria, with respect to the membranes of the cells of the urothelium and intestine, thus reducing their virulence. In this work, we demonstrate via microscopy and scattering measurements how a mixture of cranberry and
chondroitin sulfate can form a crosslinked structure with barrier properties. By using a design of experiment (DOE), we optimized the mass ratio to obtain a precipitate between cranberry extract and
chondroitin sulfate in the presence of
N-acetylcysteine and
hyaluronic acid. By using transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) chambers, we confirmed the barrier properties of the best mixture obtained with the DOE. Lastly, the antibiofilm action was investigated against five strains of Escherichia coli with different
antibiotic sensitivity. The precipitate displayed a variable inhibitory effect in biofilm formation with major effects in UTI with an antibiotic resistance profile.