Strategies to improve bioactive and antibacterial properties of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) for use as orthopedic implants

Zhi Zheng; Pengjia Liu; Xingmin Zhang; Jingguo Xin; Yongjie Wang; Xiaosong Zou; Xiaohan Mei; Shuling Zhang; Shaokun Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.mtbio.2022.100402

Strategies to improve bioactive and antibacterial properties of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) for use as orthopedic implants

Mater Today Bio. 2022 Aug 19:16:100402. doi: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2022.100402. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Zhi Zheng^{1

2}, Pengjia Liu³, Xingmin Zhang^{1

2}, Jingguo Xin^{1

2}, Yongjie Wang^{1

2}, Xiaosong Zou^{1

2}, Xiaohan Mei⁴, Shuling Zhang⁴, Shaokun Zhang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Spinal Surgery, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, China.
² Jilin Engineering Research Center for Spine and Spinal Cord Injury, Changchun, 130021, China.
³ Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia.
⁴ National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Synthetic Technology of High Performance Polymer, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China.

Abstract

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) has gradually become the mainstream material for preparing orthopedic implants due to its similar elastic modulus to human bone, high strength, excellent wear resistance, radiolucency, and biocompatibility. Since the 1990s, PEEK has increasingly been used in orthopedics. Yet, the widespread application of PEEK is limited by its bio-inertness, hydrophobicity, and susceptibility to microbial infections. Further enhancing the osteogenic properties of PEEK-based implants remains a difficult task. This article reviews some modification methods of PEEK in the last five years, including surface modification of PEEK or incorporating materials into the PEEK matrix. For surface modification, PEEK can be modified by chemical treatment, physical treatment, or surface coating with bioactive substances. For PEEK composite material, adding bioactive filler into PEEK through the melting blending method or 3D printing technology can increase the biological activity of PEEK. In addition, some modification methods such as sulfonation treatment of PEEK or grafting antibacterial substances on PEEK can enhance the antibacterial performance of PEEK. These strategies aim to improve the bioactive and antibacterial properties of the modified PEEK. The researchers believe that these modifications could provide valuable guidance on the future design of PEEK orthopedic implants.

Keywords: Antibacterial properties; Biocompatibility; Coating; Composite; Modification; Orthopedic implants; Polyetheretherketone.

Publication types

Review