Investigation of the antimicrobial activity and biocompatibility of magnesium alloy coated with HA and antimicrobial peptide

Implant-associated infection is one of the biggest problems in orthopedic surgery. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are well-known components of the innate immunity and less susceptible to the development of pathogen resistance compared to conventional antibiotics. Magnesium alloys as potential biodegradable bone implants have been received much attention in biomaterials field. This study investigated the deposition of calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings and loading of AMPs on the magnesium alloy surface by a biomimetic method. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) results presented that a microporous and plate-like CaP coating was processed on the magnesium alloy surface. X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis showed the main component of coating was hydroxyapatite (HA). Degradation assay in vitro showed that the HA coating deposited onto the magnesium alloy was corroded more slowly than the bare one. The amount of AMP loaded in the HA coating was 11.16 ± 1.99 μg/cm 2 . The AMP loaded onto HA coatings had slow release for 7 days. The AMP-loaded coating showed antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus . Its bacterial inhibition rate exceeded 50 % after 4 days and the antibacterial effect was sustained for 7 days. The coated magnesium alloys loaded with AMP could improve rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMMSCs) proliferation. Furthermore, it could also promote alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of rBMMSCs. Both radiographic evaluation and histopathology analysis demonstrated that implantation of the coated magnesium alloy into the rabbit femoral condyle had promoted bone repair and showed anti-inflammatory effect. The results showed that the AMP loaded onto HA coatings on the magnesium alloy surface could be considered an ideal orthopedic implant against S. aureus infection.