Strontium-doped bioactive glass/PDA functionalized polyetheretherketone with immunomodulatory property for enhancing photothermal clearance of Staphylococcus aureus

The infection of implants following orthopedic surgery is a "catastrophic" surgical complication, particularly when biofilms form, protecting bacteria from antibiotics as well as the patient's immune system. To address the current difficulties in treating biofilm infections, we fabricate a functional strontium doped bioactive glass nanoparticles (Sr-BGNs)-instructed orthopedic implant composed of PEEK, SrBGNs and polydopamine (PDA). In addition to destroying the permeability and integrity of MRSA biofilm, PDA also endowed PEEK substrate with effective antibacterial ability when exposing to near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. The NIR mediated photothermal disruption of biofilms contributed to the advanced antibacterial therapy, which has been validated by the efficient eradication of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains (MRSA) biofilm in vitro and in vivo. Notably, the engineered implants exhibit satisfactory cytocompatibility. In addition, Sr ions released from Sr-BGNs inhibited the expression of inflammatory genes, thereby providing a superior environment for tissue repair after infection clearance. The synergistic effect of photothermal effect and immunomodulatory property might have promising applications for preventing perioperative infection and tissue repair after infection. & COPY; 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).