2 research outputs found
Porous Nanogold/Polyurethane Scaffolds with Improved Antibiofilm, Mechanical, and Thermal Properties and with Reduced Effects on Cell Viability: A Suitable Material for Soft Tissue Applications
The
use of implants carries on a series of problems, among them infections,
poor biocompatibility, high levels of cytotoxicity, and significant
mechanical differences between implants and host organs that promote
stress shielding effects. These problems indicate that the materials
used to make implants must meet essential requirements and high standards
for implantations to be successful. In this work, we present the synthesis,
characterization and evaluation of the antibiofilm, mechanical, and
thermal properties, and cytotoxic effect of a nanocomposite-based
scaffold on polyurethane (PU) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for soft
tissue applications. The effect of the quantity of AuNPs on the antibacterial
activity of nanocomposite scaffolds was evaluated against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Klebsiella spp., with a resulting 99.99% inhibition of both bacteria using
a small quantity of nanoparticles. Cytotoxicity was evaluated with
the T10 1/2 test against fibroblast cells. The results demonstrated
that porous nanogold/PU scaffolds have no toxic effects on fibroblast
cells to the 5 day exposition. With respect to mechanical properties,
stress–strain curves showed that the compressive modulus and
yield strength of PU scaffolds were significantly enhanced by AuNPs
(by at least 10 times). This is due to changes in the arrangement
of hard segments of PU, which increase the stiffness of the polymer.
Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the degradation onset temperature
rises with an increase in the quantity of AuNPs. These properties
and characteristics demonstrate that porous nanogold/PU scaffolds
are suitable material for use in soft tissue implants