Engineered porous scaffolds for periprosthetic infection prevention

Periprosthetic infection is a consequence of implant insertion procedures and strategies for its prevention involve either an increase in the rate of newbone formation or the release of antibiotics such as vancomycin. In thiswork we combined both strategies and developed a novel, multifunctional three-dimensional porous scaffold thatwas produced using hydroxyapatite (HA) and β-tricalciumphosphate (β-TCP), coupled with a pectin (PEC)-chitosan (CHIT) polyelectrolyte (PEI), and loaded with vancomycin (VCA). By this approach, a controlled vancomycin release was achieved and serial bacterial dilution test demonstrated that, after 1 week, the engineered construct still inhibits the bacterial growth. Degradation tests show an excellent behavior in a physiological and acidic environment (b10% of mass loss). Furthermore, the PEI coating shows an anti-inflammatory response, and good cell proliferation and migration were demonstrated in vitro using osteoblast SAOS-2 cell line. This new engineered construct exhibits excellent properties both as an antibacterial material and as a stimulator of bone formation, which makes it a good candidate to contrast periprosthetic infection.