An anti-adhesion coating on titanium implants surface for synergistic photothermal-chemodynamic antibacterial application

The coating has the ability to "passive defense" against bacteria. • The coating has excellent photothermal effect and peroxidase-like activity. • Photothermal therapy and chemodynamic therapy synergistically treat bacterial infections. Implant-associated infections (IAI) can lead to the failure of implant surgeries and pose a serious threat to human health. Therefore, it is crucial to construct an antibacterial coating on the surface of implants that does not cause bacterial resistance and is non-antibiotic. Photothermal therapy (PTT) and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) as alternative strategies to antibiotics for the treatment of IAI have shown great application potential. In this study, we loaded polyethylene glycol derivative-modified cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O) nanoparticles onto the surface of titanium (Ti) implants to construct a functional coating (Ti-PC). This coating exhibits peroxidase-like activity, capable of converting H 2 O 2 into ·OH for sterilization. Meanwhile, under the irradiation of near-infrared (NIR) light, the photothermal effect of the coating can enhance its own peroxidase activity, thereby improving its sterilization capacity. Furthermore, the introduction of PEG endows the coating with the ability to "passively defend" against bacteria. Overall, this multi-functional antibacterial coating is a promising solution for treating IAI.