Bioceramic scaffolds by additive manufacturing for controlled delivery of the antibiotic vancomycin

Abstract

Silicon–calcium silicate scaffolds were fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM). Rectangular composite scaffolds with a pore size of 400 µm were designed with dimensions of 10 × 20 × 5 mm3. For imparting controlled drug release capability, scaffolds were covered with polycaprolactone (PCL) coatings for the sustained delivery of vancomycin. The drug release profile of the coated scaffolds was studied by UV–visible spectroscopy. The encapsulated drug within the PCL coated scaffold exhibited a controlled release of vancomycin. Nearly 50% of the vancomycin release from the scaffolds was observed during the first 40 h followed by the sustained release of vancomycin of nearly 20% of the actual loaded drug for the next six days. These findings suggest that SLM synthesized scaffolds with PCL coating can expand their applicability to be used as a target for Staphylococci aureus* bacteria, which often cause chronic infections such as chronic osteomyelitis in bone.