Dr. Nadine Wiesmann-Imilowski (Mainz, DE), Simone Mendler (Mainz, DE), PD Dr. Ulrike Ritz (Mainz, DE), Prof. Dr. Peer Kämmerer (Mainz, DE), Jürgen Brieger (Mainz, DE)
Abstract text (incl. figure legends and references)
Question: There is a growing need for biomaterials in medicine. Considering the demographic change, it's clear that it is becoming more and more important to handle comorbidities that hinder the tissue integration of biomaterials. In addition to preventing bacterial infection, it is essential to actively support the tissue regeneration of biomaterials. Since zinc is involved in the modulation of wound healing and the immunological response to foreign materials, we propose zinc oxide nanoparticles as a novel agent to improve the tissue integration of biomaterials.
Methods: We analyzed the antibacterial properties of zinc oxide nanoparticles using bacterial growth assays. In addition, we investigated the interaction between zinc oxide nanoparticles and fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and macrophages by measuring their cellular metabolic activity. Finally, the biocompatibility and potential angiogenesis-modulating effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles were investigated in the chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of fertilized chicken eggs.
Results: Our study could confirm the antibacterial properties of zinc oxide nanoparticles. Bacterial growth was significantly reduced by concentrations of 50 μg/ml zinc oxide nanoparticles or higher in comparison to untreated bacterial control cultures. In addition, we demonstrated for the first time that zinc oxide nanoparticles stimulated the metabolic activity of fibroblasts and endothelial cells in vitro. By using the chicken embryo CAM, we also demonstrated the high biocompatibility of zinc oxide nanoparticles in a living organism.
Conclusion: In conclusion, we found that zinc oxide nanoparticles have favorable properties to modulate wound healing and the immunological response to foreign materials while containing bacterial infection at the site of surgical trauma. Thus, the incorporation of zinc oxide nanoparticles into biomaterials could help to improve their tissue integration.