Diagnosis and treatment of chronic osteomyelitis based on nanomaterials

Chronic osteomyelitis is a painful and serious disease caused by infected surgical prostheses or infected fractures. Traditional treatment includes surgical debridement followed by prolonged systemic antibiotics. However, excessive antibiotic use has been inducing rapid emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria worldwide. Additionally, it is difficult for antibiotics to penetrate internal sites of infection such as bone, thus limiting their efficacy. New approaches to treat chronic osteomyelitis remain a major challenge for orthopedic surgeons. Luckily, the development of nanotechnology has brought new antimicrobial options with high specificity to infection sites, offering a possible way to address these challenges. Substantial progress has been made in constructing antibacterial nanomaterials for treatment of chronic osteomyelitis. Here, we review some current strategies for treatment of chronic osteomyelitis and their underlying mechanisms.