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In Vitro Biocompatibility and Antibacterial Efficacy of a Degradable Poly(l-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) Copolymer Incorporated with Silver Nanoparticles

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Abstract

Silver nanoparticles (Ag-nps) are currently used as a natural biocide to prevent undesired bacterial growth in clothing, cosmetics and medical products. The objective of the study was to impart antibacterial properties through the incorporation of Ag-nps at increasing concentrations to electrospun degradable 50:50 poly(l-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) scaffolds for skin tissue engineering applications. The biocompatibility of the scaffolds containing Ag-nps was evaluated with human epidermal keratinocytes (HEK); cell viability and proliferation were evaluated using Live/Dead and alamarBlue viability assays following 7 and 14 days of cell culture on the scaffolds. Significant decreases in cell viability and proliferation were noted for the 1.0 mg(Ag) g(scaffold)−1 after 7 and 14 days on Ag-nps scaffolds. After 14 days, scanning electron microscopy revealed a confluent layer of HEK on the surface of the 0.0 and 0.1 mg(Ag) g(scaffold)−1. Both 0.5 and 1.0 mg(Ag) g(scaffold)−1 were capable of inhibiting both Gram positive and negative bacterial strains. Uniaxial tensile tests revealed a significant (p < 0.001) decrease in the modulus of elasticity following Ag-nps incorporation compared to control. These findings suggest that a scaffold containing between 0.5 and 1.0 mg(Ag) g(scaffold)−1 is both biocompatible and antibacterial, and is suitable for skin tissue engineering graft scaffolds.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Katharina Sippel for help with the initial scaffold fabrication, and Dr. Steven Oldenburg of NanoComposix (San Diego, CA, USA) for the donation of the 20 nm Ag-nps. This research was partially supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) RO1 ES016138.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Chemical Toxicology Research and Pharmacokinetics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Meghan E. Samberg & Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere

  2. Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Meghan E. Samberg, Peter Mente & Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere

  3. College of Textiles, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Ting He & Martin W. King

  4. Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Nanotechnology Innovation Center of Kansas State (NICKS), Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere

Authors
  1. Meghan E. Samberg
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  2. Peter Mente
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  5. Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere
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Correspondence to Nancy A. Monteiro-Riviere.

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Associate Editor Kent Leach oversaw the review of this article.

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Samberg, M.E., Mente, P., He, T. et al. In Vitro Biocompatibility and Antibacterial Efficacy of a Degradable Poly(l-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) Copolymer Incorporated with Silver Nanoparticles. Ann Biomed Eng 42, 1482–1493 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-013-0929-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-013-0929-9

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