Incorporation of tantalum into PEEK and grafting of berbamine facilitate osteoblastogenesis for enhancing osseointegration and inhibit osteoclastogenesis for preventing aseptic loosening

Abstract

Aseptic loosening resulting from periprosthetic osteolysis is still a common and serious complication of total joint arthroplasty, which represents the major cause of implant failure and revision surgery. Herein, a tantalum (Ta)/polyetheretherketone (PEEK) composite (TPK) was fabricated and berbamine was grafted on the TPK surface for enhancing osseointegration and preventing periprosthetic osteolysis. The surface properties (e.g., roughness, hydrophilicity) and mechanical properties (e.g., compressive strength, modulus of elasticity) of TPKB are remarkably improved owing to incorporation of tantalum into PEEK, whereas grafting of berbamine displays no obvious change. TPKB remarkably facilitated osteoblasts differentiation of mouse bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in vitro and boosted osseointegration in vivo owing to the presence of tantalum, whereas berbamine exhibited no obvious influences. Moreover, TPKB obviously prevented osteoclast differentiation of mouse bone marrow-derived mononuclear macrophages (BMDMs) in vitro and significantly maintained osseointegration in vivo, even with polyethylene debris, and thereby effective alleviating debris-induced periprosthetic osteolysis owing to the sustained release of berbamine. Collectively, berbamine grafted on TPKB played the critical role in treatment of osteoclast-related periprosthetic osteolysis. This study provides a promising strategy to develop an implant that could address the problem of aseptic loosening in dual directions of enhancing osseointegration and treat debris-induced periprosthetic osteolysis.