Electrophoretic deposition of ferulic acid loaded bioactive glass/chitosan as antibacterial and bioactive composite coatings

Chitosan is a natural polycationic polymer and due to its biocompatibility as well as bioactivity it is widely used for biomedical applications. Ferulic acid is a promising phenolic phytochemical with a wide range of biological activities such as antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. In this work, chitosan-bioactive glass-ferulic acid (CS-BG-FA) composite coatings were successfully fabricated using alternating current electrophoretic deposition (AC-EPD) technique. The morphology of the coatings was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) which showed a uniform composite layer of 140 um in thickness. Chemical composition of the coatings was evaluated by using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). UV-Visible spectroscopy analysis confirmed the release of ferulic acid from the coatings. All samples exhibited a contact angle value in the range 41 degrees-50 degrees, which is in a suitable range for cell attachment and spreading. Moreover, the developed coatings formed a hydroxyapatite (HA) surface layer after 3 days of incubation in simulated body fluid (SBF), which was confirmed by SEM, EDX, FTIR, and XRD analyses. In vitro cell culture studies confirmed that the presence of ferulic acid in the coatings increased the viability of MG-63 human osteoblast-like cells. Furthermore, antibacterial tests showed that the presence of ferulic acid resulted in an effective bactericidal activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.