Polycaprolactone (PCL)-Polylactic Acid (PLA)-Glycerol (Gly) Composites Incorporated with Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) and Tea Tree Essential Oil (TTEO) for Tissue Engineering Applications

Abstract

The search for new biocompatible materials that can replace invasive materials in biomedical applications has increased due to the great demand derived from accidents and diseases such as cancer in various tissues. In this sense, four formulations based on polycaprolactone (PCL) and polylactic acid (PLA) incorporated with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) and tea tree essential oil (TTEO) were prepared. The sol-gel method was used for zinc oxide nanoparticle synthesis with an average size of 11 ± 2 nm and spherical morphology. On the other hand, Fourier Transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed characteristic functional groups for each composite component. The TTEO incorporation in the formulations was related to the increased intensity of the C-O-C band. The thermal properties of the materials show that the degradative properties of the ZnO-NPs decrease the thermal stability. The morphological study by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the presence of TTEO and ZnO-NPs act synergistically, obtaining smooth surfaces, whereas membranes with the presence of ZnO-NPs or TTEO only show porous morphologies. Histological implantation of the membranes showed biocompatibility and biodegradability after 60 days of implantation. This degradation occurs through the fragmentation of the larger particles with the presence of connective tissue constituted by type III collagen fibers, blood vessels, and inflammatory cells, where the process of resorption of the implanted material continues.

Biological activity of lyophilized chitosan scaffolds with inclusion of chitosan and zinc oxide nanoparticles

“…Finally, the nanoparticles were calcined in a Nabertherm LHT 02/18 furnace (Lilienthal, Bremen, Germany) at 250 °C for five hours. 27 …”

Evaluation of the Antibacterial, Anti-Cervical Cancer Capacity, and Biocompatibility of Different Graphene Oxides

“…After completing implantation periods of 30, 60, and 90 days, the biomodels were euthanized through intraperitoneal injection of sodium pentobarbital/sodium diphenylhydantoin (0.3 mL per kilogram of biomodel) using Euthanex from INVET Laboratory in Cota, Colombia. Subsequently, the samples were mixed in buffered formalin for 48 h and processed following established routine procedures to generate histological sections of 6 μm [ 42 , 43 ]. These sections were subjected to histological staining using hematoxylin-eosin (HE), Masson’s trichrome (MT), and Gomori’s trichrome (GT) techniques.…”

Biocompatibility Assessment of Polycaprolactone/Polylactic Acid/Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle Composites under In Vivo Conditions for Biomedical Applications

“…The PCL/PLA/ZnO-NP blocks were prepared following previous methodologies [ 34 ]. To prepare the blocks, different amounts of PCL, PLA, and ZnO-NPs were added according to Table 1 , keeping the presence of 4% by weight of the total formulation constant.…”

“…The scan rate was 2 degrees/min, the scan speed was 2.63 s, and the step size was 0.01°. The whole characterization of the ZnO-NPs was described in previous work [ 34 ]. The crystallite size was determined using the Scherrer formula.…”

“…Our research group has implemented the formation of membranes using components with biodegradable and biocompatible properties as polymeric matrices. These studies found that adding tea tree essential oil (TTEO) accelerated the degradative processes without necrosis due to the absence of pus and decreased inflammatory infiltrate after 90 days of implantation [ 34 , 35 ].…”