Degradation behavior of polylactic-co-glycolic acid and polycaprolactone with nanosilver scaffolds

Ureteral stents are commonly used in clinical treatment of ureteral diseases. There were a series of complications, such as biofilms and crusts caused by bacteria after surgery. Therefore, biodegradable with bacteriostatic ureteral scaffolds would be the potential to solve above mentioned problems. In this study, nanosilver (AgNP) was added to the polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) to prepare biodegradable antibacterial ureteral scaffold samples by 3D printing. The biocompatibility, antibacterial properties, degradability, and mechanical properties of samples were observed. The samples were under a strong inhibitory effect on both Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and the higher the concentration of AgNP, the stronger the antibacterial effect. When the concentration of AgNP was 10%, the antibacterial effect was up to 100%. AgNP was released continually with the degradation of samples, which can achieve a continuous antibacterial effect. The breaking strength of the samples without and with AgNP were 6.08 ± 1.16 MPa and 26.02 ± 2.00 MPa. The mechanical properties of samples with AgNP were higher than those without AgNP. It provides a potential way to design ureteral scaffolds based on biodegradable polymers with AgNP in the clinic.