Development of Anticancer Silver-Incorporated PVDF Nanofibrous Scaffold

Abstract

In this study, we present the fabrication of electrospun scaffolds consisting of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) incorporated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and investigate their potential anticancer properties. Using the electrospinning technique utilizing in-house built electrospinning device, we successfully produced nanofibrous scaffolds incorporating AgNPs through a simple and cost-effective method. Dissolution of 21% of PVDF was achieved in a combination of organic solvents acetone and dimethylformamide (Ac:DMF, volume ratio 1:3). Anticancer efficacy was evaluated through in vitro cytotoxicity assay using MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma and healthy MRC-5 fibroblast cell lines, yielding promising results that highlight the potential of silver-incorporated PVDF scaffolds for anticancer applications in tissue engineering. Different concentrations of silver nitrate (AgNO3) (0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5%) were incorporated into the PVDF nanofibrous scaffolds and evaluated by the MTT assay. Notably, the most significant anticancer effect on MDA-MB-231 cancer cells was observed at a concentration of 0.1%, without causing cytotoxic effects on MRC-5 cells, while 0.5% exhibited cytotoxic effects on both cell lines. The data suggest that even slightly higher concentrations of AgNPs can affect the viability of both cell lines. Thus, careful selection of silver nitrate concentration promises to achieve prominent results in in vitro and in vivo biological activities. Future research will focus on further exploring these findings.