Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference

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Antimicrobial and Cytotoxicity Study of Silver Chloride/ Poly (3-hydroxylbutyrate-co-3-hydroxylvalerate) (AgCl/PHBV) Film: A Potential Scaffold for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Undergraduate #49
Discipline: Chemistry and Chemical Sciences
Subcategory: Nanoscience

Lauren Wells - Howard University
Co-Author(s): Rotimi Bakare and Dharmaraj Raghavan, Howard University, Washington, DC


Currently, there is a major need to design a scaffold that can prevent biofilm formation while sustaining bone tissue regeneration. AgCl/PHBV composite film was prepared from NaCl/PHBV film by an ion exchange reaction. Studies were conducted to optimize the AgCl content in the PHBV film via washing as well as the soak times of films in varying concentrations of AgNO3. The composite film was acid digested and assayed for ion content by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). The release of Ag+ ions in aqueous solution from AgCl/PHBV film as a function of time was also studied. The antibacterial efficacy of AgCl/PHBV film against Escherichia coli, Staphylocccus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was evaluated by standard microbiological assay, while cytotoxicity of the scaffolds towards MCTC3-E1 cells was determined by MTS assay. Clear zones of inhibition around AgCl/PHBV film were noticed on a modified Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion assay. Colony forming unit measurements showed that AgCl/PHBV composite film has broad bactericidal activity with strong inhibition towards P. aeruginosa, followed by E. coli and S. aureus. Further studies are underway to investigate AgCl/PHBV film/osteoblast biocompatibility. These studies provide a novel approach to formulate scaffold with enhanced antimicrobial activity while exhibiting limited or no cytotoxicity towards bone cells.

Funder Acknowledgement(s): This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant numbers HRD-1238466, NSF-AMP HRD1000286, and NSF-MRSEC DMR-082050. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Faculty Advisor: Dharmaraj Raghavan,

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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DUE-1930047. Any opinions, findings, interpretations, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of its authors and do not represent the views of the AAAS Board of Directors, the Council of AAAS, AAAS’ membership or the National Science Foundation.