3D printing of silver-doped polycaprolactone-poly propylene succinate composite scaffolds for skin tissue engineering

Abstract

Scaffold-based tissue engineering approaches have been commonly used for skin regeneration or wound healings caused by diseases or trauma. For an ideal complete healing process, scaffold structures need to meet the criteria of biocompatibility, biodegradability, and antimicrobial properties, as well as to provide geometrical necessities for the regeneration of damaged tissue. In this study, design, synthesis and characterization of a three dimensional (3D) printable copolymer based on polycaprolactone-block-poly(1,3-propylene succinate) (PCL-PPSu) including anti-microbial silver particles is presented. 3D printing of PCL-PPSu copolymers provided a lower processing temperature compared to neat PCL, hence, inclusion of temperature-sensitive bioactive reagents into the developed copolymer could be realized. In addition, 3D printed block copolymer showed an enhanced hydrolytic and enzymatic degradation behavior. Cell viability and cytotoxicity of the developed copolymer were evaluated by using human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells. The addition of silver nitrate within the polymer matrix resulted in a significant decrease in the adhesion of different types of microorganisms on the scaffold without inducing any cytotoxicity on HDF cells in vitro. The results suggested that 3D printed PCL-PPSu scaffolds containing anti-microbial silver particles could be considered as a promising biomaterial for emerging skin regenerative therapies, in the light of its adaptability to 3D printing technology, low-processing temperature, enhanced degradation behavior and antimicrobial properties.

Nanofibrous ε-polycaprolactone scaffolds containing Ag-doped magnetite nanoparticles: Physicochemical characterization and biological testing for wound dressing applications in vitro and in vivo

“…11 , the cell viability of the undoped composition, 0.0Ag-MNPs@PCL, was 94.1 ± 5.1% and it got enhanced to 98.4 ± 3.2% for 0.2Ag-MNPs@PCL. Exposure of mammalian cells to metallic Ag in the particulate form is known to elicit a toxic response [ 85 ], but doping materials with Ag ions mostly does not tend to cause adverse effects on similar cell lines [ 86 , 87 ], presumably because of the more sustained release of Ag at lower doses than those resulting from the application of Ag in the metallic form.

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Robocasting of Single and Multi-Functional Calcium Phosphate Scaffolds and Its Hybridization with Conventional Techniques: Design, Fabrication and Characterization

“…The polymeric matrix was made of Poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL, Mw 80000, Sigma Aldrich, Milan, Italy) reinforced by a 70/30 mixture of HA and β-TCP (whitlockite, batch P346S OD, Plasma Biotal, Buxton, UK) particles. The PCL to CaP mass ratio was 60:40 and Ag + was added as AgNO 3 compound, by using 1.7 wt% of AgNO 3 with respect to the polymer mass equal to 1 wt% of AgNO 3 with respect to the total mass (polymer and CaP), in accordance with previous literature [55].…”

Next-generation surgical meshes for drug delivery and tissue engineering applications: materials, design and emerging manufacturing technologies

“…The obtained results made it clear that at a concentration of 1% wt/wt of silver nitrate, the dressing's antibacterial behaviour was significantly enhanced, especially against E. coli and C. albicans. Also, the inclusion of silver nitrate in the formulation did not alter the cytocompatibility of the used materials [167].…”