Fabrication of palladium nanoparticles anchored polypyrrole functionalized reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite for antibiofilm associated orthopedic tissue engineering

Abstract Two-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was used as a scaffold for bone tissue engineering application. To advance the biological properties including biocompatibility, osteoproliferation, and prevent bacterial infection, the rGO was non-covalently functionalized with polypyrrole (PPy) and palladium (Pd) nanoparticles (NPs). The results propose that PPy and Pd in the Pd/PPy/rGO nanocomposite (NC) create the surface functionalities and binding sites to enhance the physicochemical properties of rGO for biomedical applications. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis confirmed the highly dispersed 2–5 nm-sized Pd NPs distributed and anchored on the PPy/rGO surface. The Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum shows a peak at 1672 cm−1 corresponds to Pd-nitrogen stretching band which is caused by the interaction between Pd and PPy matrix. Moreover, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) approves the zero oxidation state of Pd (Pd0) NPs. It successfully prevents bacterial biofilms caused by E. coli, B. subtilis, P. aeruginosa, and K. pneumoniae. Therefore the NC may be used to build a bone implant material that ensures prevention from colonizing, adhering, and forming microbial biofilms on the substrates of such materials. In the future, Pd/PPy/rGO NC can be a promising material for pharmaceutical applications such as drug-delivery, anticancer and wound healing agents.