Bioactive nanofibrous scaffolds for regenerative endodontics

Here we report the synthesis,materials characterization,antimicrobial capacity,and cytocompatibility of novel antibiotic-containing scaffolds. metronidazole (met) or ciprofloxacin/(cip) was mixed with a polydioxanone (pds)polymer solution at 5 and 25 wt% and processed into fibers. pds fibers served as a control. scanning electron microscopy (sem),fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ftir),tensile testing,and high-performance liquid chromatography (hplc) were used to assess fiber morphology,chemical structure,mechanical properties,and drug release,respectively. antimicrobial properties were evaluated against those of porphyromonas gingivalis/pg and enterococcus faecalis/ef. cytotoxicity was assessed in human dental pulp stem cells (hdpscs). statistics were performed,and significance was set at the 5% level. sem imaging revealed a submicron fiber diameter. ftir confirmed antibiotic incorporation. the tensile values of hydrated 25 wt% cip scaffold were significantly lower than those of all other groups. analysis of hplc data confirmed gradual,sustained drug release from the scaffolds over 48 hrs. cip-containing scaffolds significantly (p <.00001) inhibited biofilm growth of both bacteria. conversely,met-containing scaffolds inhibited only pg growth. agar diffusion confirmed the antimicrobial properties against specific bacteria for the antibiotic-containing scaffolds. only the 25 wt% cip-containing scaffolds were cytotoxic. collectively,this study suggests that polymer-based antibiotic-containing electrospun scaffolds could function as a biologically safe antimicrobial drug delivery system for regenerative endodontics. © international & american associations for dental research.