| AVS 60th International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Biomaterial Interfaces | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session BI-WeM |
| Session: | Cell-Surface Interactions |
| Presenter: | A. Pegalajar-Jurado, Colorado State University |
| Authors: | A. Pegalajar-Jurado, Colorado State University K.A. Wold, Colorado State University M.M. Reynolds, Colorado State University E.R. Fisher, Colorado State University |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Wounds caused by diseases or injuries often present complications, requiring medical intervention to restore biochemical processes needed for proper healing to occur. Several biodegradable polymeric materials have been applied to wounds for protection and to facilitate the healing. These materials, however, often do not inhibit bacterial infection nor support cell growth.
Development of therapeutic materials that release antimicrobial agent from a porous, polymeric fibers scaffold has been previously reported by our group, which was directly related to the release of nitric oxide (NO). These scaffolds showed a release of NO under physiological pH and temperature, and a log2 reduction in Acinetobacter baumannii was achieved using 15 mg/mL of NO releasing S-nitrosated poly(lactic-co-glycolic-co-hydroxymethyl propionic acid (PLGH)-cysteamine. However, fibroblast cells showed low viability when exposed to concentrations higher than 0.1 mg/mL of S-nitrated PLGH-cysteamine polymer. A log5 reduction in bacteria such as Escherichia coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is required to be considered medically relevant. To achieve this goal, a multiple therapeutic strategy was implemented. The antimicrobial activity of silver nanoparticles against E.coli and S.aureus over short period of time is well established. To obtain a long term efficacy as well as local toxicity, silver nanoparticles were incorporated within the NO releasing scaffolds. This combination is expected to result in antibacterial activity against multiple strains included E.coli and MRSA.
Plasma processing has been used extensively to modify two-dimensional materials. Recently, however, plasma treatments have been used to successfully modify three-dimensional (3D) structures. Our preliminary data demonstrate that porous (Ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds can be modified by plasma functionalization. Significant increase in the scaffolds’ wettability was achieved by H2O/NH3 and H2O/N2 plasma treatments. XPS analysis corroborated changes in the surface chemistry throughout the 3D structure, with no significant changes in scaffold morphology after plasma treatments (SEM analysis). In addition, enhanced osteoblast proliferation was observed in PCL scaffolds after plasma surface modification. These results support plasma surface modification as a viable technique to improve the surface properties of 3D materials to promote cell growth and ultimately aid in tissue engineering. In addition to these results, cell proliferation and the antimicrobial behavior of S-nitrated PLGH-cysteamine polymer after the incorporation of silver nanoparticles and plasma surface modification will be discussed.