Effect of Zinc Oxide Addition on Antibacterial Behavior of Hydroxyapatite-Poly lactic-co-glycolic acid Scaffold for Bone Tissue Engineering Applications

Infection after the surgery is one of the problems of bone scaffolds implants which is normally treated by systemic administration of antibiotics. But due to the poor blood circulation in bone tissue, large antibiotic doses are needed which lead to further drawbacks to renal and hepatic systems.
Material and In this study, the effect of zinc oxide addition on antibacterial behavior of hydroxyapatite- Poly lactic-co-glycolic acid scaffold was evaluated. The synthesized composite was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy equipped with elemental analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectra. In order to determine the antibacterial activity of the fabricated scaffold, Staphylococcus aureus (ATTC 25922) and Escherichia coli (ATTC 25923) were used as test microorganisms.
The results showed that Hydroxyapatite- Poly lactic-co-glycolic acid scaffold did not make inhibition zone in culture medium but the modification of Hydroxyapatite- Poly lactic-co-glycolic acid scaffold’s surface by zinc oxide particles caused Hydroxyapatite- Poly lactic-co-glycolic acid- zinc oxide scaffold to have antibacterial inhibition zone of 12 and 20 mm for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively.
Discussion and This study revealed that the addition of antibacterial agent to applicable bone tissue engineering scaffolds could be considered as an appropriate way to prevent the growth of infection at the scaffold site.