Development of 3D Printed Biodegradable Mesh with Antimicrobial Properties for Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Jiongyu Ren; Rebecca Murray; Cynthia S Wong; Jilong Qin; Michael Chen; Makrina Totsika; Andrew D Riddell; Andrea Warwick; Nicholas Rukin; Maria A Woodruff

doi:10.3390/polym14040763

Development of 3D Printed Biodegradable Mesh with Antimicrobial Properties for Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Polymers (Basel). 2022 Feb 16;14(4):763. doi: 10.3390/polym14040763.

Authors

Jiongyu Ren^{1

2}, Rebecca Murray^{3

4

5}, Cynthia S Wong⁶, Jilong Qin⁷, Michael Chen^{1

2

3}, Makrina Totsika⁷, Andrew D Riddell^{5

8}, Andrea Warwick⁵, Nicholas Rukin^{3

5}, Maria A Woodruff^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Biomedical Technologies, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia.
² School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia.
³ Herston Biofabrication Institute, Metro North Health, Brisbane, QLD 4029, Australia.
⁴ Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
⁵ Redcliffe Hospital, Metro North Health, Redcliffe, QLD 4020, Australia.
⁶ Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD), St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC 3065, Australia.
⁷ Centre for Immunology and Infection Control, School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia.
⁸ Northside Clinical Unit, School of Clinical Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.

Abstract

To address the increasing demand for safe and effective treatment options for pelvic organ prolapse (POP) due to the worldwide ban of the traditional polypropylene meshes, this study introduced degradable polycaprolactone (PCL)/polyethylene glycol (PEG) composite meshes fabricated with melt-electrowriting (MEW). Two PCL/PEG mesh groups: 90:10 and 75:25 (PCL:PEG, wt%) were fabricated and characterized for their degradation rate and mechanical properties, with PCL meshes used as a control. The PCL/PEG composites showed controllable degradation rates by adjusting the PEG content and produced mechanical properties, such as maximal forces, that were higher than PCL alone. The antibacterial properties of the meshes were elicited by coating them with a commonly used antibiotic: azithromycin. Two dosage levels were used for the coating: 0.5 mg and 1 mg per mesh, and both dosage levels were found to be effective in suppressing the growth of S. aureus bacteria. The biocompatibility of the meshes was assessed using human immortalized adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC). In vitro assays were used to assess the cell viability (LIVE/DEAD assay), cell metabolic activity (alamarBlue assay) and cell morphology on the meshes (fluorescent and electron microscopy). The cell attachment was found to decrease with increased PEG content. The freshly drug-coated meshes showed signs of cytotoxicity during the cell study process. However, when pre-released for 14 days in phosphate buffered saline, the initial delay in cell attachment on the drug-coated mesh groups showed full recovery at the 14-day cell culture time point. These results indicated that the PCL/PEG meshes with antibiotics coating will be an effective anti-infectious device when first implanted into the patients, and, after about 2 weeks of drug release, the mesh will be supporting cell attachment and proliferation. These meshes demonstrated a potential effective treatment option for POP that may circumvent the issues related to the traditional polypropylene meshes.

Keywords: antibacterial; biocompatible; controllable degradation rate; pelvic organ prolapse; polycaprolactone; polyethylene glycol.

Grants and funding

CRG 172-2019/Metro North Hospital and Health Services; Queensland University of Technology