3D printing of drug-eluting bioactive multifunctional coatings for orthopedic applications

Eben Adarkwa; Abhijit Roy; John Ohodnicki; Boeun Lee; Prashant N Kumta; Salil Desai

doi:10.18063/ijb.v9i2.661

3D printing of drug-eluting bioactive multifunctional coatings for orthopedic applications

Int J Bioprint. 2023 Jan 4;9(2):661. doi: 10.18063/ijb.v9i2.661. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Eben Adarkwa¹, Abhijit Roy^{2

3}, John Ohodnicki², Boeun Lee², Prashant N Kumta^{2

4

5}, Salil Desai¹

Affiliations

¹ Center of Excellence in Product Design and Advanced Manufacturing, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA.
² Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
³ Kennametal Inc., Latrobe, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁴ Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
⁵ Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is implemented for surface modification of titanium alloy substrates with multilayered biofunctional polymeric coatings. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) polymers were embedded with amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) and vancomycin (VA) therapeutic agents to promote osseointegration and antibacterial activity, respectively. PCL coatings revealed a uniform deposition pattern of the ACP-laden formulation and enhanced cell adhesion on the titanium alloy substrates as compared to the PLGA coatings. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed a nanocomposite structure of ACP particles showing strong binding with the polymers. Cell viability data showed comparable MC3T3 osteoblast proliferation on polymeric coatings as equivalent to positive controls. In vitro live/dead assessment indicated higher cell attachments for 10 layers (burst release of ACP) as compared to 20 layers (steady release) for PCL coatings. The PCL coatings loaded with the antibacterial drug VA displayed a tunable release kinetics profile based on the multilayered design and drug content of the coatings. Moreover, the concentration of active VA released from the coatings was above the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration, demonstrating its effectiveness against Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strain. This research provides a basis for developing antibacterial biocompatible coatings to promote osseointegration of orthopedic implants.

Keywords: 3D printing; Antibacterial; Orthopedic implants; Osseointegration; Polymeric coatings; Therapeutic agents.