Advancing anticorrosion and antibacterial performance of mg AZ31 implants using novel pH-responsive polymeric surfactant for preparing PLGA nanoparticles

To address the substantial corrosion problem associated with magnesium alloy (AZ31), submicron particles of PLGA (poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)) containing 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (IMZ) and curcumin (CUR) were developed using a novel pH-responsive acrylate-based polymeric surfactant (APS) through nanoprecipitation. To achieve this, an acrylate-based block copolymer through reversible addition−fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) radical polymerization was synthesized as a first step. Findings indicated that APS exhibited a remarkable ability to produce spherical nanosized particles, particularly at low concentrations. The primary objective of this research was to develop drug carriers for AZ31 implants. So, CUR/IMZ have been loaded in the obtained particles were loaded and the release profiles of loaded particles were evaluated accordingly. The results revealed that the system significantly reduced the corrosion rate of AZ31 in a test solution, primarily due to the presence of IMZ, with the optimum sample exhibiting a polarization resistance of 7026 Ω.cm−2. Finally, cell viability was carried out and the results showed that approximately 81 % of cells remained viable after 24 h of exposure. It is worth noting that the issue of bacterial infections in AZ31 implants was mitigated (with a reduction in bacterial growth) by tailoring the PLGA particles to contain CUR as an antibacterial agent. [Display omitted] •The pH-sensitive amphiphilic block copolymer was synthesized by RAFT polymerization method.•The designed particle-loaded coating protects AZ31 by the barrier mechanism.•The anti-corrosion, antibacterial and cytotoxic properties of the above coating were evaluated.