Development and characterization of metronidazole-loaded and chitosan-coated PCL electrospun fibres for potential applications in guided tissue regeneration

Abstract

Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) involves the prevention of epithelial down growth in gingival connective tissue by utilizing a barrier membrane, which favors the regeneration of periodontal tissues. This study aims to produce chitosan (Chi)-coated polycaprolactone (PCL) GTR membranes that can prevent inflammation by providing local release of antibiotic/anti-inflammatory drug metronidazole (MET), and can eliminate the need of second periodontal surgery via degradation. PCL fibers (20%) containing 5 and 15 wt.% of MET were fabricated with electrospinning, and then subsequently coated with Chi solutions (5%) for the first time in literature to obtain enhanced fiber biodegradability. Increasing drug concentration caused a decrease in PCL solution viscosity, which resulted in thinner fibers as demonstrated by SEM images. The incorporation of drug as well as the post Chi coating step improved the fiber hydrophilicity. The study showed that 93% of the Chi-coated PCL fiber degraded after 28-day incubation in PBS. Approximately 97.7% and 91.4% of MET were released after 28 days for pH 6.5 and pH 7.4, respectively. Our results indicate that the fabricated electrospun fibers have potential use in GTR due mainly to their hydrophilic, biodegradable and prolonged drug-releasing prospects and subsequent studies involving cellular and in vivo experiments are in progress. © (2021) Society for Biomaterials & Artificial Organs #20049121