Biochemical Approach to Poly(Lactide)–Copper Composite—Impact on Blood Coagulation Processes

Abstract

The paper presents the investigation of the biological properties of Poly(Lactide)—Copper composite material obtained by sputter deposition of copper onto Poly(lactide) melt-blown nonwoven fabrics. The functionalized composite material was subjected to microbial activity tests against colonies of Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus), Gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) bacteria, Chaetomium globosum and Candida albicans fungal mold species and biochemical–hematological tests including the evaluation of the Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time, Prothrombin Time, Thrombin Time and electron microscopy fibrin network imaging. The substantial antimicrobial and antifungal activities of the Poly(Lactide)–Copper composite suggests potential applications as an antibacterial/antifungal material. The unmodified Poly(Lactide) fabric showed accelerated human blood plasma clotting in the intrinsic pathway, while copper plating abolished this effect. Unmodified PLA itself could be used for the preparation of wound dressing materials, accelerating coagulation in the case of hemorrhages, and its modifications with the use of various metals might be applied as new customized materials where blood coagulation process could be well controlled, yielding additional anti-pathogen effects.

Biochemical Behavior, Influence on Cell DNA Condition, and Microbiological Properties of Wool and Wool–Copper Materials

“…The copper content of WO-Cu materials was assessed by prior sample mineralization ( Figure 1 ), using single-module Magnum II microwave mineralizer from Ertec (Wroclaw, Poland) and subsequent FAAS determination, in a similar way as described earlier [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

“…As the continuation of our research program directed towards antibacterial polymer–metal materials [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ], we present here the study concerning the wool–copper (WO-Cu) material consisting of the keratin matrix [ 33 , 34 , 35 ] and copper—the transition element existing mainly in three oxidation states (0, +1, and +2) [ 36 ], with positive redox potentials (Cu + /Cu = 0.52 V; Cu 2+ /Cu = 0.38 V; Cu 2+ /Cu + = 0.52 V) [ 37 ] and coordination numbers 2–4 [ 36 ], exhibiting a rich coordination chemistry [ 38 , 39 , 40 ] and a broad spectrum of diverse biological activities.…”

Activity in the Field of Blood Coagulation Processes of Poly(Lactide)-Zinc Fiber Composite Material Obtained by Magnetron Sputtering

“…The determination of the zinc content in the PLA-Zn composites was performed by prior sample mineralization (Figure 1), using a single-module Magnum II microwave mineralizer from Ertec (Wroclaw, Poland), in a similar way as was described previously [49][50][51][52][53][54]. The concentration of zinc in the obtained composites was determined by means of a Thermo Solar M6 (Thermo Scientific, LabWrench, Midland, ON, Canada) atomic absorption spectrometer and a Magnum II single-module microwave mineralizer (Ertec, Wroclaw, Poland).…”

“…The antimicrobial properties of the PLA-Zn (t) composites were evaluated against the E. coli (ATCC 25922) and S. aureus (ATCC 6538) bacteria, according to the EN ISO 20645:2006 standard [120], analogous to our previous works [49][50][51][52][53][54].…”

“…The current study is a continuation of our research program aimed at developing antibacterial polymer-metal composites [49][50][51][52][53][54] and is focused on the PLA-Zn composites made from a matrix with hemostatic properties [35][36][37][38][39][40] (but without an inherent antibacterial effect [55]) and with an antipathogenic (antibacterial [56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65]; antiviral [66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77]; and antifungal [78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86][87]), hemostatic [88][89][90]…”