June 2018 Vol.6 No.5

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Original Research Article

Fabrication of a biodegradable scaffold with localized response to bacterial infections

Ammar M. Hassanbhai¹, Jing Lim¹, Feng Wen¹, Heng Li Chee¹, Bow Ho², Mark S.K. Chong¹ and Swee Hin Teoh^1,3*

¹School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Block N1.2, 62 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637459
²Department of Microbiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
³Director, Centre for Bone Tissue Engineering, School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering,
Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
Senior Renassiance Engineering Programme (REP) Fellow
Nanyang Technological University, N1.3-B5-01a, 62 Nanyang Drive, S637459.
Chief Engineer, Skin Research Institute of Singapore (SRIS), 11 Mandalay Rd, Singapore 308232

*Corresponding Author’s E-mail: teohsh@ntu.edu.sg

Accepted June 11, 2018

Abstract

Implant-associated infections remain a significant source of morbidity in the clinic. Systemic administration of antibioticsis often ineffective, due in part to limited vascularization of the implant site. Here, we describe a physical method of incorporating antibiotics into biodegradable scaffolds. Antibiotics gentamicin sulfate (GS) and metronidazole (MZ) were cryomilled with polycaprolactone (PCL) and subsequently heat-melded. Antibiotic-loaded films were evaluated for mechanical properties, drug release characteristics, anti-microbial efficacy and cytotoxicity. Our results suggest this process to be feasible for the generation of thin film coatings with varying drug concentrations. Release profiles indicated an initial burst release for both antibiotics with a sustained release of 3 and 8 days for GS and MZ films respectively. The films inhibited bacterial growth, while viability assays suggest low mammalian cytotoxicity. Taken together, these findings establish this method as a chemical-free means to form biodegradable drug scaffolds for the tailored local delivery of antibiotics.

Keywords: Polycaprolactone, Cryomilling, Antimicrobial, Antibiotic delivery system, Implant-associated infections