Surface-mediated bone tissue morphogenesis from tunable nanolayered implant coatings.

The functional success of a biomedical implant critically depends on its stable bonding with the host tissue. Aseptic implant loosening accounts for more than half of all joint replacement failures. Various materials, including metals and plastic, confer mechanical integrity to the device, but often these materials are not suitable for direct integration with the host tissue, which leads to implant loosening and patient morbidity.

Electrically Triggered Release of a Small Molecule Drug from a Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Coating.

Electrically triggered drug delivery represents an attractive option for actively and remotely controlling the release of a therapeutic from an implantable device (e.g., a "pharmacy-on-a-chip").

Dual functional polyelectrolyte multilayer coatings for implants: permanent microbicidal base with controlled release of therapeutic agents.

Here we present a new bifunctional layer-by-layer (LbL) construct made by combining a permanent microbicidal polyelectrolyte multilayered (PEM) base film with a hydrolytically degradable PEM top film that offers controlled and localized delivery of therapeutics. Two degradable film architectures are presented: (1) bolus release of an antibiotic (gentamicin) to eradicate initial infection at the implant site, or (2) sustained delivery of an anti-inflammatory drug (diclofenac) to cope with inflammation at the site of implantation due to tissue injury. Each degradable film was built on top of a permanent base film that imparts the implantable device surface with microbicidal functionality that prevents the formation of biofilms.

The effectiveness of the controlled release of gentamicin from polyelectrolyte multilayers in the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus infection in a rabbit bone model.

While the infection rate of orthopedic implants is low, the required treatment, which can involve six weeks of antibiotic therapy and two additional surgical operations, is life threatening and expensive, and thus motivates the development of a one-stage re-implantation procedure. Polyelectrolyte multilayers incorporating gentamicin were fabricated using the layer-by-layer deposition process for use as a device coating to address an existing bone infection in a direct implant exchange operation. The films eluted about 70% of their payload in vitro during the first three days and subsequently continued to release drug for more than four additional weeks, reaching a total average release of over 550 microg/cm(2).