Development of Bionanocomposites Based on PLA, Collagen and AgNPs and Characterization of Their Stability and In Vitro Biocompatibility

Bionanocomposites including poly(lactic acid) (PLA), collagen, and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were prepared as biocompatible and stable films. Thermal properties of the PLA-based bionanocomposites indicated an increase in the crystallinity of PLA plasticized due to a small quantity of AgNPs. The results on the stability study indicate the promising contribution of the AgNPs on the durability of PLA-based bionanocomposites. In vitro biocompatibility conducted on the mouse fibroblast cell line NCTC, clone 929, using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay showed high values of cell viability (>80%) after cell cultivation in the presence of bionanocomposite formulations for 48 h, while the percentages of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) released in the culture medium were reduced (<15%), indicating no damages of the cell membranes. In addition, cell cycle analysis assessed by flow cytometry indicated that all tested bionanocomposites did not affect cell proliferation and maintained the normal growth rate of cells. The obtained results recommend the potential use of PLA-based bionanocomposites for biomedical coatings.