Application of Antimicrobial Peptides on Biomedical Implants: Three Ways to Pursue Peptide Coatings

Abstract

Biofilm formation and inflammations are number one reasons of implant failure and cause a severe number of postoperative complications every year. To functionalize implant surfaces with antibiotic agents provides perspectives to minimize and/or prevent bacterial adhesion and proliferation. In recent years, antimicrobial peptides (AMP) have been evolved as promising alternatives to commonly used antibiotics, and have been seen as potent candidates for antimicrobial surface coatings. This review aims to summarize recent developments in this field and to highlight examples of the most common techniques used for preparing such AMP-based medical devices. We will report on three different ways to pursue peptide coatings, using either binding sequences (primary approach), linker layers (secondary approach), or loading in matrixes which offer a defined release (tertiary approach). All of them will be discussed in the light of current research in this area.

Keywords: antimicrobial peptides; biomaterials; peptide synthesis; surface coating; therapeutic potential.

Figure 1

Coating medical devices with antimicrobial peptides is a useful strategy to prevent the formation of biofilms. In a first step, the implant surface is decorated with a layer of AMPs by different means. In this work, we will discuss three different strategies, primary, secondary, and tertiary coating. All of them lead to biofunctionalized solid materials that prevent the colonization with bacteria.