45S5Bioglass®-based scaffolds coated with selenium nanoparticles or with poly(lactide-co-glycolide)/selenium particles: Processing, evaluation and antibacterial activity

In the bone tissue engineering field, there is a growing interest in the application of bioactive glass scaffolds (45S5Bioglass(®)) due to their bone bonding ability, osteoconductivity and osteoinductivity. However, such scaffolds still lack some of the required functionalities to enable the successful formation of new bone, e.g. effective antibacterial properties. A large number of studies suggest that selenium (Se) has significant role in antioxidant protection, enhanced immune surveillance and modulation of cell proliferation. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNp) have also been reported to possess antibacterial as well as antiviral activities. In this investigation, uniform, stable, amorphous SeNp have been synthesized and additionally immobilized within spherical PLGA particles (PLGA/SeNp). These particles were used to coat bioactive glass-based scaffolds synthesized by the foam replica method. Samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). SeNp, 45S5Bioglass(®)/SeNp and 45S5Bioglass(®)/PLGA/SeNp showed a considerable antibacterial activity against Gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, one of the main causative agents of orthopedic infections. The functionalized Se-coated bioactive glass scaffolds represent a new family of bioactive, antibacterial scaffolds for bone tissue engineering applications.