5. Conclusion
Herein, we demonstrated that PDA based nanoparticles with a controlled
size can be obtained in the presence of a polycationic antimicrobial
peptide without interfering with the antimicrobial properties of the
polypeptide. The system was effective not only in stand-alone
configuration but also within hydrogels. The incorporation of the
resulting NPs in gelatin hydrogels as a model of tissue engineering
scaffolds leads to hydrogels with antimicrobial capacity and improved
mechanical properties. These NPs can be used to render tissue
engineering scaffold antimicrobial; particularly in the cases where the
slow kinetic in the cell growth can result in bacterial pouches while
contributing to the mechanical properties of the scaffold. Last but not
least, we showed that this hydrogel can release NPs which would also
allow to use it for drug release applications
Our future work will focus on the possibility to enable the muco
penetration of the polyarginine decorated PDA nanoparticles.