Porous Zirconia Scaffolds Functionalized with Calcium Phosphate Layers and PLGA Nanoparticles Loaded with Hydrophobic Gentamicin

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2023-05, Vol.24 (9), p.8400
• Main Authors: Pudełko, Iwona, Moskwik, Anna, Kwiecień, Konrad, Kriegseis, Sven, Krok-Borkowicz, Małgorzata, Schickle, Karolina, Ochońska, Dorota, Dobrzyński, Piotr, Brzychczy-Włoch, Monika, Gonzalez-Julian, Jesus, Pamuła, Elżbieta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antibacterial activity; Antibacterial agents; Antibiotics; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Bacterial infections; Biocompatibility; Biological activity; Bones; Calcium phosphate; Calcium phosphates; Calcium Phosphates - chemistry; Cancellous bone; Cell viability; Double emulsions; Efficiency; foam replication; Fractures; Gentamicin; Gentamicins - pharmacology; Health aspects; Hydrophobicity; implant-related infections; Infection; Infections; Morphology; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - chemistry; PLGA; Polylactide-co-glycolide; polymer nanoparticles; Polymers; Porosity; porous scaffolds; Scaffolds; Scanning electron microscopy; Tissue Engineering - methods; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry; Transplants & implants; Zirconia; zirconia scaffolds; Zirconium dioxide; Zirconium oxide
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms24098400

Implant-related infections are a worldwide issue that is considered very challenging. Conventional therapies commonly end up failing; thus, new solutions are being investigated to overcome this problem. The in situ delivery of the drug at the implant site appears to be more sufficient compared to systemic antibiotic therapy. In this study, we manufactured porous zirconia scaffolds using the foam replication method. To improve their overall bioactivity, they were coated with a calcium phosphate (CaP) layer containing antibiotic-loaded degradable polymer nanoparticles (NPs) obtained by the double emulsion method to achieve the antibacterial effect additionally. Encapsulation efficiency (EE) and drug loading (DL) were superior and were equal to 99.9 ± 0.1% and 9.1 ± 0.1%, respectively. Scaffolds were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy, and their porosity was evaluated. The porosity of investigated samples was over 90% and resembled the microstructure of spongy bone. Furthermore, we investigated the cytocompatibility with osteoblast-like MG-63 cells and antimicrobial properties with . Scaffolds coated with a CaP layer were found non-toxic for MG-63 cells. Moreover, the presence of antibiotic-loaded nanoparticles had no significant influence on cell viability, and the obtained scaffolds inhibited bacteria growth. Provided processes of fabrication of highly porous zirconia scaffolds and surface functionalization allow minimizing the risk of implant-related infection.