College of Textiles & Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China.
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The First People's Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, Guangdong 528000, China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Mar 8;15(9):11507-11519. doi: 10.1021/acsami.2c20401. Epub 2023 Feb 28.
Implant-associated infection (IAI) caused by pathogens colonizing on the implant surface is a serious issue in the trauma-orthopedic surgery, which often leads to implant failure. The complications of IAI bring a big threat to the clinical practice of implants, accompanied by significant economic cost and long hospitalization time. In this study, we propose an antibiotics-free strategy to address IAI-related challenges by using a biodegradable and cytocompatible hydrogel coating. To achieve this, a novel hydrogel system was developed to combine the synergistic effects of good cell affinity and antibacterial properties. The hydrogel material was prepared by modifying a photocross-linkable gelatin-based polymer (GelMA) with cationic quaternary ammonium salt (QAS) groups via a mild and simple synthesis procedure. By engineering the length of the hydrophobic carbon chain on the QAS group and the degree of functionalization, the resulting GelMA-octylQAS hydrogel exhibited an integration of good mechanical properties, biodegradability, excellent bactericidal activity against various types of bacteria, and high cytocompatibility with mammalian cells. When coated onto the implant via the in situ cross-linking procedure, our hydrogel demonstrated superior antimicrobial ability in the infective model of femoral fracture of rats. Our results suggest that the GelMA-octylQAS hydrogel might provide a promising platform for preventing and treating IAI.
植入物相关感染（IAI）是创伤骨科领域中一个严重的问题，由定植在植入物表面的病原体引起，常导致植入物失败。IAI 的并发症给植入物的临床应用带来了巨大威胁，同时伴随着巨大的经济成本和较长的住院时间。在这项研究中，我们提出了一种抗生素免费策略，通过使用可生物降解和细胞相容的水凝胶涂层来应对 IAI 相关的挑战。为了实现这一目标，我们开发了一种新型水凝胶系统，将良好的细胞亲和性和抗菌性能的协同作用结合在一起。该水凝胶材料是通过温和简单的合成工艺，用阳离子季铵盐（QAS）基团对光交联明胶基聚合物（GelMA）进行修饰而制备的。通过工程化 QAS 基团上的疏水碳链长度和官能度，得到的 GelMA-辛基 QAS 水凝胶具有良好的机械性能、可生物降解性、对各种类型细菌的优异杀菌活性以及与哺乳动物细胞的高细胞相容性。当通过原位交联程序涂覆在植入物上时，我们的水凝胶在大鼠股骨干骨折感染模型中表现出了卓越的抗菌能力。我们的结果表明，GelMA-辛基 QAS 水凝胶可能为预防和治疗 IAI 提供了一个有前途的平台。
