Construction of chiral ZnO/BMP-2 dual functional coating on the surface of Ti implants for anti-infection and enhancement of osseointegration

Titanium (Ti) implants are widely used in bone defect repair, however, postoperative infections and insufficient osseointegration would lead to implant failure. Therefore, it is much critical and necessary to construct antibacterial and osteogenic coatings on the surface of Ti implants to improve the successful rate of operation. Herein, D-penicillamine stabilized chiral ZnO nanoparticles (D-ZnO NPs) were prepared, which were loaded on the surface of Ti implants together with BMP-2 to construct a dual functional coating with antibacterial and osteogenic properties. The in vitro results demonstrated that the coating showed excellent antibacterial ability, and the antibacterial rates against S. mutans , E. coli and S. aureus were 86%, 98%, and 76%, respectively. Additionally, the coating could effectively induce macrophage polarization towards M2 phenotype, which modulated the local immune microenvironment. Furthermore, the introduction of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) promoted osteogenesis, which may enhance the osseointegration of Ti implants. This study provides a novel strategy to address the challenges of Ti implants, and offer the solid theoretical foundation for expanding the clinical applications of multifunctional Ti implants materials.