Development of hydrofluoric acid-cleaned silicon nitride implants for periprosthetic infection eradication and bone regeneration enhancement

Huan Zhou; Shaofeng Yang; Donglei Wei; Chunyong Liang; Qiang Yang; Huilin Yang; Donghui Wang; Mingjun Li; Lei Yang

doi:10.1016/j.msec.2021.112241

Development of hydrofluoric acid-cleaned silicon nitride implants for periprosthetic infection eradication and bone regeneration enhancement

Mater Sci Eng C Mater Biol Appl. 2021 Aug:127:112241. doi: 10.1016/j.msec.2021.112241. Epub 2021 Jun 7.

Authors

Huan Zhou¹, Shaofeng Yang², Donglei Wei², Chunyong Liang¹, Qiang Yang³, Huilin Yang², Donghui Wang¹, Mingjun Li⁴, Lei Yang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Center for Health Science and Engineering, School of Health Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Orthopaedics, Orthopaedic Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
³ Center for Health Science and Engineering, School of Health Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, People's Republic of China; Department of Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
⁴ Institute of Biophysics, College of Sciences, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, People's Republic of China.
⁵ Center for Health Science and Engineering, School of Health Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, People's Republic of China; Department of Orthopaedics, Orthopaedic Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: ylei@hebut.edu.cn.

PMID: 34225881
DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2021.112241

Abstract

Orthopedic implant is commonly associated with occurrence or relapse of osteomyelitis. This study developed a hydrofluoric acid (HF) cleaned silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) implant Si₃N₄_AC for osteomyelitis control and established a rat tibial osteomyelitis model to evaluate its efficacy on eradicating periprosthetic infection and enhancing bone regeneration. In vitro studies revealed Si₃N₄_AC had improved biocompatibility and inhibited Staphylococcus aureus adhesion. A custom-made Si₃N₄_AC implant was prepared and inserted into the rat tibia longitudinal cavity inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus. The in vivo bacteriostatic and osteogenic efficacies of Si₃N₄_AC implant were evaluated by histological, microbiological and Micro-CT analyses and compared with implants of pure Ti and Si₃N₄ . Si₃N₄_AC implant group revealed 99.5% inhibition of periprosthetic Staphylococcus aureus compared to the osteomyelitis group after 14 days post-operation. Implant-adhering bacteria density of Si₃N₄_AC was also much lower than pure Ti and Si₃N₄. In addition, micro-CT evaluation of peri-implant bone formation under the condition of periprosthetic osteomyelitis after 30 days post-surgery confirmed the osteogenic ability of Si₃N₄_AC. Taken together, Si₃N₄_AC can be an effective orthopedic biomaterial to eradicate periprosthetic infection and enhance bone regeneration.

Keywords: Anti-infection; Bone regeneration; Hydrofluoric acid; Osteomyelitis; Silicon nitride.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Bone Regeneration
Disease Models, Animal
Hydrofluoric Acid
Osteomyelitis* / drug therapy
Prostheses and Implants
Rats
Silicon Compounds / pharmacology
Staphylococcal Infections* / drug therapy

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Silicon Compounds
silicon nitride
Hydrofluoric Acid