Chitosan functionalized poly-ε-caprolactone electrospun fibers and 3D printed scaffolds as antibacterial materials for tissue engineering applications. (1st July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tardajos, Myriam G.; Cama, Giuseppe; Dash, Mamoni; Misseeuw, Lara; Gheysens, Tom; Gorzelanny, Christian; Coenye, Tom; Dubruel, Peter
• Is Part Of: Carbohydrate polymers. Volume 191(2018)
• Page Start: 127
• Page End: 135
• Publication Date: 2018-07-01
• Subjects: Chitosan -- Surface functionalization -- Scaffolds -- Poly-ε-caprolactone -- Antibacterial; Polysaccharides -- Periodicals; Polysaccharides -- Periodicals; Polysaccharides -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 547.78
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.02.060
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0144-8617

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Surface modification strategy: Ar plasma activation of Poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) scaffolds followed by UV photopolymerization of methacrylic acid N -hydroxysuccinimide ester (NHSMA) onto the plasma activated PCL surface and subsequent chitosan binding by NHS coupling with the grafted chains. Highlights: Covalent chitosan coupling to PCL scaffolds by a two-step surface functionalization procedure. High MW chitosan provided the most homogeneous coverage on PCL scaffolds. Bacterial growth was reduced on the chitosan modified scaffolds. Abstract: Tissue engineering (TE) approaches often employ polymer-based scaffolds to provide support with a view to the improved regeneration of damaged tissues. The aim of this research was to develop a surface modification method for introducing chitosan as an antibacterial agent in both electrospun membranes and 3D printed poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) scaffolds. The scaffolds were functionalized by grafting methacrylic acid N -hydroxysuccinimide ester (NHSMA) onto the surface after Ar-plasma/air activation. Subsequently, the newly-introduced NHS groups were used to couple with chitosan of various molecular weights (Mw). High Mw chitosan exhibited a better coverage of the surface as indicated by the higher N% detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and the observations with either scanning electron microscopy (SEM)(for fibers) or Coomassie blue staining (for 3D-printed scaffolds). A lactate dehydrogenase assay (LDH) using L929 fibroblasts demonstrated the cell-adhesion and cell-viability capacity of the modified samples. The antibacterial properties against S. aureus ATCC 6538 and S. epidermidis ET13 revealed a slower bacterial growth rate on the surface of the chitosan modified scaffolds, regardless the chitosan Mw.