Surface modification of vascular endothelial growth factor-loaded silk fibroin to improve biological performance of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene via promoting angiogenesis

Abstract

Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has been applied in orthopedics, as the materials of joint prosthesis, artificial ligaments, and sutures due to its advantages such as high tensile strength, good wear resistance, and chemical stability. However, postoperative osteolysis induced by UHMWPE wear particles and poor bone–implant healing interface due to scarcity of osseointegration is a significant problem and should be solved imperatively. In order to enhance its affinity to bone tissue, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was loaded on the surface of materials, the loading was performed by silk fibroin (SF) coating to achieve a controlled-release delivery. Several techniques including field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and attenuated total reflectance (ATR)-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and water contact angle measurement were used to validate the effectiveness of introduction of SF/VEGF. The result of ELISA demonstrated that the release of VEGF was well maintained up to 4 weeks. The modified UHMWPE was evaluated by both in vitro and in vivo experiments. According to the results of FESEM and cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells cultured on the UHMWPE coated with SF/VEGF and SF exhibited a better proliferation performance than that of the pristine UHMWPE. The model rabbit of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction was used to observe the graft–bone healing process in vivo. The results of histological evaluation, microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) analysis, and biomechanical tests performed at 6 and 12 weeks after surgery demonstrated that graft–bone healing could be significantly improved due to the effect of VEGF on angiogenesis, which was loaded on the surface by SF coating. This study showed that the method loading VEGF on UHMWPE by SF coating played an effective role on the biological performance of UHMWPE and displayed a great potential application for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Enhance the biocompatibility and osseointegration of polyethylene terephthalate ligament by plasma spraying with hydroxyapatite in vitro and in vivo

“…Direct insertion is composed of tendon, unmineralized fibrocartilage, mineralized fibrocartilage, and bone, while indirect insertion anchors the ligament to periosteum by Sharpey's fibers. 11 Li et al 29 and Ai et al 11 have reported IF between the graft and the host bone matured with narrowed width, fibrocartilage formation, and Sharpey's fiber formation at 12 weeks after ACL reconstruction, which is in consistent with our work.…”

“…5 Synthetic materials for ACL reconstruction and modification of those materials have been investigated for their potential to address the challenges of osseointegration. [6][7][8][9] Our previous studies have applied gelatin, 10 silk fibroin, 11 and material based on calcium phosphate 12 to artificial ligament using different surface modification techniques, which have shown positive effect on the biological performance. Among these materials, HA has been proved to improve osseointegration after applied on PET ligament.…”

<p>Encapsulation of a nanoporous simvastatin-chitosan composite to enhance osteointegration of hydroxyapatite-coated polyethylene terephthalate ligaments</p>

“…An in vivo study showed that compared to HA-coated Ti, plasma-sprayed MgO and SiO 2 binary-doped HA-coated Ti implants could significantly enhance bone mineralization and could reach the maximum implant pushout force at week 14 13. Similarly, another study of ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene coated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-loaded silk fibroin showed an improvement in the graft-bone healing process in rabbit ACLR models 14. Therefore, the addition of bioactive molecules could further improve the osteointegration of plasma-sprayed HA coatings.…”

Biomaterials research of China from 2013 to 2017 based on bibliometrics and visualization analysis

“…With the development of biology and materials science, biomaterials are developing at an astonishing rate. Nanotechnology (Qian et al, 2017; Huang et al, 2018; Li et al., 2016a; Li et al., 2016b), surface modification technology (Chen et al, 2018; Ren et al, 2015; Ai et al, 2017; Wang et al, 2017), 3D printing (Kelly et al, 2018; Zhu et al, 2016), stem cell technology (Gaffney, Wrona & Freytes, 2018; Merceron et al., 2008) and other leading-edge technologies are accelerating the innovation of biomaterials (Dalby et al, 2004; Li et al., 2016a; Li et al., 2016b; Zhang et al, 2018). The government of China has been increased the investment in research and development, and continued to issue the policies to provide guidance for the development of biomaterials.…”