Composite Polyurethane-Polylactide (PUR/PLA) Flexible Filaments for 3D Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) of Antibacterial Wound Dressings for Skin Regeneration

Abstract

This paper addresses the potential application of flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) compositions as a material for the production of antibacterial wound dressings using the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) 3D printing method. On the market, there are medical-grade polyurethane filaments available, but few of them have properties required for the fabrication of wound dressings, such as flexibility and antibacterial effects. Thus, research aimed at the production, characterization and modification of filaments based on different TPU/PLA compositions was conducted. The combination of mechanical (tensile, hardness), structural (FTIR), microscopic (optical and SEM), degradation (2 M HCl, 5 M NaOH, and 0.1 M CoCl2 in 20% H2O2) and printability analysis allowed us to select the most promising composition for further antibacterial modification (COMP-7,5PLA). The thermal stability of the chosen antibiotic—amikacin—was tested using processing temperature and HPLC. Two routes were used for the antibacterial modification of the selected filament—post-processing modification (AMI-1) and modification during processing (AMI-2). The antibacterial activity and amikacin release profiles were studied. The postprocessing modification method turned out to be superior and suitable for wound dressing fabrication due to its proven antimicrobial activity against E. coli, P. fluorescens, S. aureus and S. epidermidis bacteria.

Sustainable polymers targeted at the surgical and otolaryngological applications: Circularity and future

“…44 The new solutions for otolaryngology based on sustainable polymers are developed and approved each year, e.g., Novapak ® (chitosan and cellulose) or Latera ® (poly-L-lactide), which FDA approved in 2020 and 2019, respectively. 52,53 The search for new polymers for usage in otolaryngology is still commencing, focusing on testing 54 and blending 55 various commercial materials or developing new ones. 56 In the field of bioprinting and tissue engineering naturally-derived hydrogels from collagen, agar or algae could be used.…”

3D bioprinting: opportunities for wound dressing development

“…An ink prepared by mupirocin together with N,O-carboxymethyl and chitosan-starch was able to inhibit S. aureus [121]. Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, S. aureus, and Staphylococcus epidermidis bacteria were all inhibited by the addition of amikacin to materials [122]. Although the ink composition ratio and the temperature can influence drug release, it is still challenging to control the dosage to satisfy the longlasting antibacterial requirements of materials.…”

Special Features of Polyester-Based Materials for Medical Applications

“…The usual techniques for preparing modified polyesters for artificial bone-substitute materials involve 3D printing [ 51 , 61 , 65 , 66 , 72 , 74 , 75 , 76 ], thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) [ 32 ], salt leaching [ 32 , 69 , 79 ], solvent casting [ 33 , 35 , 77 , 79 ], electrospinning [ 60 , 64 , 70 ], copolymerization [ 31 ], and polycondensation [ 73 ].…”

“…Fused deposition modeling (FDM)/fused filament fabrication (FFF) is one of the most common low-cost AM techniques. The designed model, microarchitecture, and geometry of wound-dressing materials were obtained by providing the successive layers of materials using appropriate computer-aided design (CAD) software or Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) files [ 75 ].…”