HPC HYBRID HYDROGELS WITH EMBEDDED SILVER NANOPARTICLES FOR ANTIBACTERIAL SCAFFOLDS. BIOCOMPATIBILITY TESTING

The biocompatibility of hybrid hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) hydrogels with different content of embedded silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is revealed by testing the cytotoXicity and induction of cell death. The effect of cytotoxicity and cell death was studied on L929 fibroblasts by using MTT cytotoxicity assay, cell morphological observations and acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EtBr) live cell staining. The results showed good biocompatibility of hydrogels containing AgNPs in the range 0.5-1.5 wt % Ag. Cells incubated with HPC hydrogels with the higher amount of AgNPs (2-2.5 wt % Ag) presented morphological changes corresponding to cell death and increased grade of cytotoxicity revealed by MTT assay. All these data suggest that AgNPs content in HPC materials exibits dose-dependent threshold over which the biocompatibility of the hydrogels is disturbed. Hybrid materials with low silver content 0.5 wt % to 1.5 wt % Ag proved their biocompatibility and will be suitable candidates for biomedical applications.