SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND BACTERIAL INACTIVATION OF GO-HYDROGELS COMPOSITES

CUELLO, ANTONIA; PEREYRA, JESICA; BARBERO, CESAR; SALAVAGIONE HORACIO J.; ACEVEDO, DIEGO F.; YSLAS, EDITH INES

Buenos Aires

Congreso; REUNIÓN CONJUNTA DE SOCIEDADES DE BIOCIENCIAS; 2017

SAIB

The objective of this work, was synthesized, characterized andevaluated the antimicrobial activity of tetracycline (tet) loaded inhydrogel nanocomposites containing graphene oxide (GO) andGO plus carbon nanotubes (CNT). The preparation of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNIPAm) hydrogel nanocomposites containingGO and GO plus CNT in the polymer network is communicated.This one-pot preparation methods include the dispersion of GO (orGO plus CNT) in a solution of monomers and the subsequent polymerization.The texture of the nanocomposites was studied usingscanning electron microscopy (SEM), where very compact surfacesare observed suggesting good dispersion of GO sheets and CNTswithin the polymer matrix. In order to apply these materials for antibioticdelivery, the absorption of tetracycline (tet) is evaluated and thenanocomposites showed better absorption capability and improvedantibiotic delivery. This result showed that the loading capacity toincorporate an antibiotic is around 50 % higher for the compositesthan for the pristine hydrogel. The in vitro antibacterial propertiesof composite hydrogels were investigated by agar diffusion testsagainst gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. Besides,the agar diffusion test demonstrates the composite antimicrobialactivity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa of tet loaded compositehydrogels (PNIPAm with graphene oxide and tet and PNIPAmwith GO and CNT and tet). The results clearly show that the inhibitionzone around each loaded composite PNIPAm-GO-tet (1.60±0.2 cm) and PNIPAm-GO-CNT-tet (1.75±0.3 cm) are higher thanthe PNIPAm-GO and NIPAm-GO-CNT without the antibiotic whichnot present inhibition zone. These results suggest that tet loadedPNIPAm-GO and PNIPAM-GO-CNT display antimicrobial activityagainst the Pseudomonas aeruginosa turning these materials aspotential candidates for biomedical applications.