Amoxicillin-loaded polycaprolactone/ nanohydroxyapatite electrospun scaffolds

RIVERO, GUADALUPE; FURTOS, GABRIEL; RAPUNTEAN SORIN; ABRAHAM, GUSTAVO A.

Eger

Conferencia; Conference on Electrospun Nano- and microfibres for biomedical applications; 2015

In guided bone regeneration, a barrier membrane is used to prevent fibroblastic cells from colonizing an intraosseous wound during healing, allowing a slow migration of bone cells to fill the defect and regenerate the bone. In this work, electrospun matrices composed of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and nanohydroxyapatite (nHAp) loaded with amoxicillin (AMX) were designed for applications in the dental field.PCL can be slowly biodegraded without producing a local acidic environment, while nHAp has good biocompatibility, bioactivity, high osteoconductivity, and/or osteoinductivity [1,2]. Moreover, an antimicrobial activity is essential to control and/or reduce bacterial contamination of periodontal defects as well as to enhance the regeneration. Different fibrous nanocomposites were obtained by varying the concentration of nHAp (0-20%) and antibiotic (0, 1 and 1.5%) incorporated in the composition. Uniform fibers were produced in all cases, with an average diameter of 1.7 ± 0.5 µm. Structural, morphological, thermal, mechanical and surface properties were determined. The presence of nHAp was evidenced by TGA and DRX, revealing certain crystallinity. Amoxicillin incorporated in the matrices was quantified by UV-Vis spectroscopy [3], and its bactericidal effect was tested. The antimicrobial activity of the different compositions depended on both the drug and the nHAp content. The incorporation of AMX seems to modify the nHAp distribution within the matrix. The bioactivity of the specimens in simulated body fluid (SBF) was assessed by SEM/EDAX, evaluating their ability to form apatite on their surfaces. Relevant biomineralization ability was evidenced in all samples after 21 days. High nHAp content is more beneficial for bone regeneration but leads to certain decrease in the antimicrobial activity. Taking into account that certain permanent deformation can be convenient when the membrane is placed for dental applications, matrices containing 10% nHAp resulted adequate. Electrospun amoxicillin-loaded nanocomposite scaffolds could be a promising biodegradable and bioactive material for dental applications.