@article{samberg_mente_he_king_monteiro-riviere_2014, title={In Vitro Biocompatibility and Antibacterial Efficacy of a Degradable Poly(L-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) Copolymer Incorporated with Silver Nanoparticles}, volume={42}, ISSN={["1573-9686"]}, url={http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84904246786&partnerID=MN8TOARS}, DOI={10.1007/s10439-013-0929-9}, abstractNote={Silver nanoparticles (Ag-nps) are currently used as a natural biocide to prevent undesired bacterial growth in clothing, cosmetics and medical products. The objective of the study was to impart antibacterial properties through the incorporation of Ag-nps at increasing concentrations to electrospun degradable 50:50 poly(l-lactide-co-epsilon-caprolactone) scaffolds for skin tissue engineering applications. The biocompatibility of the scaffolds containing Ag-nps was evaluated with human epidermal keratinocytes (HEK); cell viability and proliferation were evaluated using Live/Dead and alamarBlue viability assays following 7 and 14 days of cell culture on the scaffolds. Significant decreases in cell viability and proliferation were noted for the 1.0 mg(Ag) g(scaffold)−1 after 7 and 14 days on Ag-nps scaffolds. After 14 days, scanning electron microscopy revealed a confluent layer of HEK on the surface of the 0.0 and 0.1 mg(Ag) g(scaffold)−1. Both 0.5 and 1.0 mg(Ag) g(scaffold)−1 were capable of inhibiting both Gram positive and negative bacterial strains. Uniaxial tensile tests revealed a significant (p < 0.001) decrease in the modulus of elasticity following Ag-nps incorporation compared to control. These findings suggest that a scaffold containing between 0.5 and 1.0 mg(Ag) g(scaffold)−1 is both biocompatible and antibacterial, and is suitable for skin tissue engineering graft scaffolds.}, number={7}, journal={ANNALS OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING}, author={Samberg, Meghan E. and Mente, Peter and He, Ting and King, Martin W. and Monteiro-Riviere, Nancy A.}, year={2014}, month={Jul}, pages={1482–1493} }