Human hair keratin-based biofilm for potent application to periodontal tissue regeneration

For the treatment of periodontitis, local delivery of antibiotics and their sustained release are preferable to enhance microbial susceptibility and to reduce possible side effects occurrence in systemic drug delivery. To address these issues, antibiotic loaded polymeric matrices implantable into periodontal pocket have been commercially used in dentistry and oral medicine. Recently, keratin has been drawing attention as a natural polymer for its ability to mediate cell behavior with minor or no immunogenicity enabling further process towards autologous implantation. In this study, human hair keratin was extracted with a cocktail of reducing agents, and antibiotic eluting keratin-based biofilms were fabricated. Physicochemical analysis and release test showed proper physical stability and sustained release of the loaded antibiotics. In addition, the released antibiotic suppressed the growth of various types of oral bacteria including porphyromonas gingivalis. Cellular interaction studies showed that human oral epithelial cell, human gingival fibroblast and periodontal ligament cells proliferated and guided well on biofilms. This study propose that antibiotic eluting keratin-based biofilms are provisional device for the treatment of chronic periodontitis offering advantages such as local controlled drug delivery and biocompatibility, and human hair keratin is able to be a good biomaterial for the potent applications to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.