Carbon fiber-reinforced poly(ether ether ketone) (CFRPEEK)
composite
materials, with good biocompatibility and human cortical bone-like
elastic modulus, are considered as possible orthopedic implants. However,
the inert surface caused inadequate osseointegration, which has limited
the clinical application of CFRPEEK in the field of bone implants.
To address this issue, a surface chemical modification strategy is
proposed to construct a simvastatin (SIM) sustained-release system
on the surface of CFRPEEK to promote angiogenesis and osteogenesis.
Based on the Friedel–Crafts reaction between PEEK and succinic
anhydride, carboxylated CFRPEEK is prepared to adsorb SIM through
the surface pore structure, then chitosan/amino-terminated poly(ethylene
glycol) (CS/PEG-NH2) (CPN) as a biocoating is covalently
grafted on the surface to prevent the rapid diffusion of SIM (SCP/SIM/CPN). In vitro assays indicate that SCP/SIM/CPN exhibits the long-term
sustained-release capability of SIM, good hydrophilicity, biomineralization
capability, and excellent angiogenesis and bone regeneration/osseointegration.
In addition, the rat subcutaneous implantation model confirms that
surface modification improves the immunofluorescence intensity of
VEGF and CD31 in the surrounding tissues of the implant by 1.65 and
1.60 times after 7 days of implantation, respectively. The rat cranial
defect model further substantiates that, compared to the unmodified
group, the bone mineral density and bone volume/total volume of the
SCP/SIM/CPN group, respectively, increase by 1.84-fold and 1.58-fold
after 12 weeks of implantation. This study has attempted to construct
a drug sustained-release system on the surface of CFRPEEK by the chemical
modification strategy to improve its osseointegration and angiogenesis
features, and SCP/SIM/CPN as prepared has potential application in
bone tissue engineering.