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

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.