COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR 3D PRINTED FIBROUS SCAFFOLDS WITH ANTIMICROBIAL PROPERTIES INCORPORATING GRAPHENE OXIDE AND POLY(E-CAPROLACTONE)

摘要

The present invention refers to the parameters of a composition of Poly (e-caprolactone) – PLC - and Graphene Oxide (GO) for use in killing bacteria that cause infections in patients implanted with medical devices, for example Staphylococcusepidermidis and Escherichia coli.The present invention also refers to a method for constructing PLC/GO fibers and fibrous scaffolds by additive manufacturing and wet spinning, employing the present invention's composition and for example 3D printing. The said method and compositions can be developed to produce a fibrous scaffold in which fiber diameter and PLC/GO concentrations are such that GO sheets are incorporated but at the same time exposed at the polymer surface, coffering bactericidal properties to the material, while keeping biocompatibility.As such, the present invention further relates to a fibrous PLC/GO bactericidal scaffold and to the implanted medical devices comprising such scaffold.The present invention's composition, method, scaffold and medical devices may be advantageously used to achieve PLC/GO scaffolds and medical devices with bactericidal properties that have reduced risk of implant-associated infections.