66 Revista Română de Materiale / Romanian Journal of Materials 2014, 44 (1), 66 - 73 MATERIALE COMPOZITE ANTISEPTICE PENTRU APLICAŢII BIOMEDICALE ANTISEPTIC COMPOSITE MATERIAL FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS ANDREIA ILIE, ECATERINA ANDRONESCU , CRISTINA DANIELA GHIŢULICĂ ∗ , ANDREI TIBERIU CUCURUZ Universitatea “Politehnica” Bucureşti, Str. G.Polizu, 011061, Bucureşti, România The scope of the present work was to study the release of methylene blue from a composite material based on collagen and hydroxyapatite. The obtaining of the composite material was achieved by co-precipitation of hydroxyapatite in the collagen matrix (at a pH of 10.5). Later, methylene blue was added dropwise because the composite material is intended to act as support for releasing methylene blue; the release of methylene blue ensuring the antiseptic nature of the material. The composites were then characterized by: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while the release process was monitored by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The characterization of the collagen/hydroxyapatite composite material revealed a good mineralization of collagen matrix a high stability of the mineral phase, as well as the capacity to bind/absorb methylene blue. From the point of view of the release process, the results showed a gradual release that was evidenced by UV- Vis spectroscopy, the release evolution being monitored at a wavelength of 663 nm, characteristic. Therefore, studies suggest the use of collagen/hydroxyapatite composite material as support for tissular regeneration of bone tissue, methylene blue providing antiseptic properties. În lucrarea de faţă s-a studiat eliberarea albastru- lui de metilen dintr-un material compozit de tip colagen- hidroxiapatită. Obţinerea materialului compozit s-a realizat prin coprecipitarea hidroxiapatitei în matricea colagenică (la un pH de 10,5). Ulterior a fost adăugat albastru de metilen prin picurare, materialul compozit dorindu-se a avea rolul de suport pentru eliberarea albastrului de metilen; eliberarea albastrului de metilen asigurând caracterul antiseptic al materialului obţinut. Materialele obţinute au fost caracterizate prin: spectroscopie de IR cu transformată Fourier (FT-IR), difracţie de raze X (XRD), microscopie electronică de baleiaj (SEM), în timp ce procesul de eliberare a fost monitorizat prin spectroscopie UV-Vis. Caracterizarea materialului compozit colagen- hidroxiapatită a evidenţiat o bună mineralizare a matricii colagenice, o stabilitate mare a fazei minerale, precum şi abilitatea de a lega/absorbi albastru de metilen. Din punct de vedere al procesului de eliberare, rezultatele au arătat o eliberare treptată care a fost pusă în evidenţă cu ajutorul spectroscopiei UV-Vis, evoluţia eliberării fiind urmărită la lungimea de undă de 663nm, caracteristică. Prin urmare, studiile realizate sugerează o posibilă utilizare a materialului compozit de tip colagen- hidroxiapatită ca suport pentru regenerarea tisulară a ţesutului osos, albastru de metilen asigurând proprietăţi antiseptice. Keywords: hydroxyapatite, collagen, drug release, methylene blue 1. Introduction Drug delivery systems (DDS) are new tools with applications both in the fields of industry and medicine. Drug delivery is a domain of high importance for medicine and healthcare [1-6]. A wide range of improvements can occur by controlling drug delivery: bioavailability, by preventing premature degradation and enhancing uptake, the number of side effects will decrease by targeting exactly the diseased cells and sites, and a constant drug concentration by controlling the drug release rate. Many synthetic biomaterials were tested as bone graft materials but the most promising of them seems to be the collagen (Coll)/hydroxyapatite (HA) (nano) composite materials because because of the similarity with natural bones [7-9]. Calcium phosphate-based bioceramics such as hydroxyapatite (Ca 10 (PO 4 ) 6 (OH) 2 ) are well- known for their excellent biocompatibility due to the resemblance in composition with apatite found in natural bones [10-12]. Research studies have been done using HA with the purpose to deliver stem cell-containing biomaterials to the sites of disease or injury to allow bone regeneration. Although pure HA is bioactive, it is very difficult to incorporate therapeutic agents within HA without destroying the biofunctionality of its surface. In order to overcome this limitation, several composites of HA and polymers have been developed [13-16]. Methylene blue (3,7-bis(dimethylamino)- phenothiazin-5-iumchloride) is an oxidation/reduction indicator with blue/gray color that is applied both in biology and chemistry. At room temperature, it appears as an odorless, dark green powder and dissolution in water produces a blue solution that is usable as redox indicator in analytical chemistry. Methylene blue (MB) was in ∗ Autor corespondent/Corresponding author, E-mail: cghitulica@yahoo.com