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. 2022 Dec 24:24:236-250.
doi: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2022.12.016. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Multifunctionalized carbon-fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone implant for rapid osseointegration under infected environment

Xiao Wang  1   2 , Lisha Pan  1   2 , Ao Zheng  1   2 , Lingyan Cao  1   2 , Jin Wen  1   2 , Tingshu Su  1   2 , Xiangkai Zhang  2 , Qingfeng Huang  1   2 , Xinquan Jiang  1   2
Affiliations

Multifunctionalized carbon-fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone implant for rapid osseointegration under infected environment

Xiao Wang et al. Bioact Mater. .

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone (CFRPEEK) possesses a similar elastic modulus to that of human cortical bone and is considered as a promising candidate to replace metallic implants. However, the bioinertness and deficiency of antibacterial activities impede its application in orthopedic and dentistry. In this work, titanium plasma immersion ion implantation (Ti-PIII) is applied to modify CFRPEEK, achieving unique multi-hierarchical nanostructures and active sites on the surface. Then, hybrid polydopamine (PDA)@ZnO-EDN1 nanoparticles (NPs) are introduced to construct versatile surfaces with improved osteogenic and angiogenic properties and excellent antibacterial properties. Our study established that the modified CFRPEEK presented favorable stability and cytocompatibility. Compared with bare CFRPEEK, improved osteogenic differentiation of rat mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and vascularization of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) are found on the functionalized surface due to the zinc ions and EDN1 releasing. In vitro bacteriostasis assay confirms that hybrid PDA@ZnO NPs on the functionalized surface provided an effective antibacterial effect. Moreover, the rat infected model corroborates the enhanced antibiosis and osteointegration of the functionalized CFRPEEK. Our findings indicate that the multilevel nanostructured PDA@ZnO-EDN1 coated CFRPEEK with enhanced antibacterial, angiogenic, and osteogenic capacity has great potential as an orthopedic/dental implant material for clinical application.

Keywords: Antibacterial activity; Nanopores; Osteogenic activity; Polyetheretherketone; Vascularization.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Surface microstructures of the coatings. A) Surface microstructures of the CFRPEEK before and after Ti-PIII and hybrid PDA@ZnO NPs (or PDA@ZnO-EDN1) treatment. B) Energy-dispersive X-ray mapping of the Ti-PIII/PDA@ZnO-EDN1 surface. C) Water contact angles and photographs of water droplets on different samples. D) Vickers hardness of different samples. E) Ti and Zn ions concentration after immersion for different time. F) The release of EDN1 protein after immersion for different time. G) Increased fibronectin adsorption on modified surfaces. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 when compared with Ti-PIII; #p < 0.05, ##p < 0.01 when Ti-PIII/PDA@ZnO-EDN1 compared with Ti-PIII/PDA@ZnO.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A, B) The expression of integrin β1 and vinculin at the protein level on different samples. “Merge” represents the merged images of actin (red), protein (green), and nuclei (blue). C ∼ E) RT-PCR detection of integrin β1, integrin α2 and vinculin gene expression in BMSCs after incubating on different samples for 4 and 12 h. F) Proliferation activity of BMSCs cultured on different plates for 1, 4, and 7 days. G) Evaluation of BMSCs proliferation at 48 h by EdU staining. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 when compared with Ti-PIII; #p < 0.05, ##p < 0.01 when Ti-PIII/PDA@ZnO-EDN1 compared with Ti-PIII/PDA@ZnO.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The osteogenic effects of modified surfaces on BMSCs. A) ALP staining of BMSCs cultured on CFRPEEK plates for 4 and 7 days. B) Alizarin Red S (ARS) staining of BMSCs after 14 days of culturing. Red fluorescence represents calcium deposition and the nuclei appear blue. C, D) Quantitative analysis of ALP activity and ARS of the BMSCs. E, F) The expression of OCN and OPN at the protein level in BMSCs after 7 days of culturing. G) RT-PCR detection of osteogenic-related gene expression in BMSCs after incubating on different samples for 4 days (Runx2 and Alp) and 7 days (Ocn, Opn, Bsp, Osx). *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 when compared with Ti-PIII; #p < 0.05, ##p < 0.01 when Ti-PIII/PDA@ZnO-EDN1 compared with Ti-PIII/PDA@ZnO.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
The angiogenic effects of the modified surfaces on HUVECs. A) The migration of HUVECs on different surfaces in the wound healing assay. B) Images in the upper layers display the HUVECs penetrating the transwell membranes, under the induction of the collected culture medium for 12 and 24 h. C) The wound healing percentage. D) The statistics of the numbers of these HUVECs penetrating the transwell membranes. E) Images of the tube formation of HUVECs. F ∼ I) The statistics of the numbers of the in vitro formed vessels. J) RT-PCR detection of VEGF and HIF-1α gene expression in HUVECs after incubating on different samples for 4 days. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 when compared with Ti-PIII; #p < 0.05, ##p < 0.01 when Ti-PIII/PDA@ZnO-EDN1 compared with Ti-PIII/PDA@ZnO.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Investigation of antibacterial effects. A, B) Confocal micrographs of bacteria cultured on samples for 12 h, the green fluorescence referred to live bacteria and red referred to dead bacteria. C, D) Numbers of bacteria colonies adhered to different groups for S. aureus and E. coli. E) ROS detected through detecting the decay of DPBF when incubated with different samples. F) S. aureus membrane permeability assessed by ONPG hydrolysis assay. G) Cellular ATP level of S. aureus reflected by luminescence intensity after different treatments. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 when compared with Ti-PIII.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Evaluation of in vivo antibacterial effects. A) Photograph of bacteria colonies plates of different samples taken from different rats. B) Photograph of bacteria culture mediums of different samples taken from different rats. C) Infection degree around different implants assessed by H&E staining. Red arrows represented lobulated neutrophils. D) H&E staining images of major organs (including heart, kidney, spleen, liver, lung) collected from different samples implanted in rats.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Multifunctional implants promoted vascularized rapid osseointegration in vivo. A) Characterization of implants and the surrounding bones by Micro-CT. B, C) Quantitative analysis of the percentage of bone volume to tissue volume (BV/TV), new bone mineral density. D) Angiography around implants by Micro-CT. E) Schematic view of the implant in rat femur bones. The red rectangular area indicated the histological observation region. F) Histological sections stained with Van Gieson's picrofuchsin solution. G, H) The statistical results of the percent of BIC and the area of newly-formed bones around the implants. I) The histological sections stained of CD31. J) Sequential fluorescent labeling observations. K) The statistical results of the fluorochrome area. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 when compared with Ti-PIII; #p < 0.05, ##p < 0.01 when Ti-PIII/PDA@ZnO-EDN1 compared with Ti-PIII/PDA@ZnO.
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