Combining Coaxial Electrospinning and 3D Printing:
Design of Biodegradable Bilayered Membranes with Dual Drug Delivery
Capability for Periodontitis Treatment
posted on 2021-12-10, 19:37authored byDanilo M. dos Santos, Sarah R. de Annunzio, Juliana C. Carmello, Ana C. Pavarina, Carla R. Fontana, Daniel S. Correa
Periodontitis
is a chronic inflammatory disease that can lead to
significant destruction of tooth-supporting tissues, compromising
dental function and patient’s health. Although the currently
employed treatment approaches can limit the advance of the disease,
the development of multifunctional and hierarchically structured materials
is still in demand for achieving successful tissue regeneration. Here,
we combine coaxial electrospinning and 3D printing techniques to prepare
bilayered zein-based membranes as a potential dual drug delivery platform
for periodontal tissue regeneration. A layer of core–sheath
electrospun nanofibers consisting of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/curcumin
(Curc)/tetracycline hydrochloride (TH) as the core and zein/poly(ε-caprolactone)(PCL)/β-glycerolphosphate
(β-GP) as the sheath was deposited over a 3D printed honeycomb
PLA/zein/Curc platform in order to render a bilayered structure that
can mimic the architecture of periodontal tissue. The physicochemical
properties of engineered constructs as well as the release profiles
of distinct drugs were mainly controlled by varying the concentration
of zein (10, 20, 30%, w/w relative to dry PCL) on the sheath layer
of nanofibers, which displayed average diameters ranging from 150
to 400 nm. In vitro experiments demonstrated that the bilayered constructs
provided sustained release of distinct drugs over 8 days and exhibited
biocompatibility toward human oral keratinocytes (Nok-si) (cell viability
>80%) as well as antibacterial activity against distinct bacterial
strains including those of the red complex such as Porphyromonas
gingivalis and Treponema denticola, which
are recognized to elicit aggressive and chronic periodontitis. Our
study reveals the potential of zein-based bilayered membranes as a
dual drug delivery platform for periodontal tissue regeneration.