The use of ultraviolet (UV) and blue
irradiation to sterilize surfaces
is well established, but commercial applications would be enhanced
if the light source is replaced with ambient light. In this paper,
it is shown that nanofibers can be explored as an alternative methodology
to UV and blue irradiation for bacterial inactivation. It is demonstrated
that this is indeed possible using spun nanofibers of poly[lactic-co-(glycolic acid)] (PLGA). This work shows that PLGA spun
scaffolds can promote photoinactivation of Staphylococcus
aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria with ambient light or with laser irradiation at 630 nm.
With the optimized scaffold composition of PLGA85:15 nanofibers, the
minimum intensity required to kill the bacteria is much lower than
in antimicrobial blue light applications. The enhanced effect introduced
by PLGA scaffolds is due to their nanofiber structures since PLGA
spun nanofibers were able to inactivate both S. aureus and E. coli bacteria, but cast films
had no effect. These findings pave the way for an entirely different
method to sterilize surfaces, which is less costly and environmentally
friendly than current procedures. In addition, the scaffolds could
also be used in cancer treatment with fewer side effects since photosensitizers
are not required.
Controlled drug release holds promise to revolutionize medicine, particularly if short-term and long-term release can be combined in a single system. We present here a new pulsatile release system, in which the pulses were achieved using 3D scaffolds of poly(l-lactic acid), PLLA. From a morphological characterization of the scaffold’s surfaces, before and after releasing experiments at distinct pHs, we infer that release is governed by electrostatic interactions and the fractal geometry of the scaffolds. Furthermore, the scaffold can present short-term (within hours) or long-term (several days long) releasing profiles by varying the pH, which opens the way for unprecedented drug release control.
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