Juan M. Galdopórpora, Marina F. Morcillo, Angelina Ibar, Claudio J. Perez, Maria V. Tuttolomondo and Martin F. Desimone* Pages 4121 - 4129 ( 9 )
Background: Skin and soft tissue infections involve microbial invasion of the skin and underlying soft tissues. To overcome this problem, nanocomposites were obtained using gelatin as a biopolymer scaffold and silver nanoparticles as a wide spectrum antimicrobial agent. Water and glycerol have been used as solvents for the gelatin hydrogel synthesis. This mixture led to a stable and homogeneous biomaterial with improved mechanical properties.
Methods: Silver nanoparticles were characterized using SEM, EDS and TEM. Moreover, the AgNp/gelatin nanocomposite obtained using these nanoparticles was characterized using SEM and FTIR. Moreover, mechanical and swelling properties were studied.
Results: The storage modulus was 3000 Pa for gelatin hydrogels and reached 5800 Pa for AgNp/gelatin nanocomposite. Silver nanoparticles have been studied as an alternative to antibiotics. Importantly, the rate of silver release was modulated as a function of the temperature of the nanocomposite. Thus, the silver release from the nanocomposites at 24 °C and 38 °C was analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The silver release reached 25% after 24 h at 24 °C, while a 75% release was achieved at 38°C in the same period, showing the material thermoresponsive behavior. AgNp/gelatin nanocomposite showed a deleterious effect over 99.99% of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, leading to a material with antimicrobial properties.
Conclusion: AgNp/gelatin nanocomposite with improved mechanical properties and silver nanoparticles as a source of silver ions has been synthesized. The properties of the nanocomposite with controlled silver delivery result in a more efficient topical pharmaceutical form for wound healing applications.
Antimicrobial material, thermoresponsive material, silver nanoparticles, tissue engineering, wound healing, nanocomposite.
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Quimica y Metabolismo del Farmaco (IQUIMEFA), Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica, Junin 956, Piso 3° (1113), Buenos Aires, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Quimica y Metabolismo del Farmaco (IQUIMEFA), Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica, Junin 956, Piso 3° (1113), Buenos Aires, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Quimica y Metabolismo del Farmaco (IQUIMEFA), Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica, Junin 956, Piso 3° (1113), Buenos Aires, Instituto en Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnologia de Materiales, Universidad de Mar del Plata, (CONICET), Juan B. Justo 4302, Mar del Plata, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Quimica y Metabolismo del Farmaco (IQUIMEFA), Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica, Junin 956, Piso 3° (1113), Buenos Aires, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnicas (CONICET), Instituto de Quimica y Metabolismo del Farmaco (IQUIMEFA), Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquimica, Junin 956, Piso 3° (1113), Buenos Aires