title: Chimeric peptides as implant functionalization agents for titanium alloy implants with antimicrobial properties.
abstract: Implant-associated infections can have severe effects on the longevity of implant devices and they also represent a major cause of implant failures. Treating these infections associated with implants by antibiotics is not always an effective strategy due to poor penetration rates of antibiotics into biofilms. Additionally, emerging antibiotic resistance poses serious concerns. There is an urge to develop effective antibacterial surfaces that prevent bacterial adhesion and proliferation. A novel class of bacterial therapeutic agents, known as antimicrobial peptides (AMP's), are receiving increasing attention as an unconventional option to treat septic infection, partly due to their capacity to stimulate innate immune responses and for the difficulty of microorganisms to develop resistance towards them. While host- and bacterial- cells compete in determining the ultimate fate of the implant, functionalization of implant surfaces with antimicrobial peptides can shift the balance and prevent implant infections. In the present study, we developed a novel chimeric peptide to functionalize the implant material surface. The chimeric peptide simultaneously presents two functionalities, with one domain binding to a titanium alloy implant surface through a titanium-binding domain while the other domain displays an antimicrobial property. This approach gains strength through control over the bio-material interfaces, a property built upon molecular recognition and self-assembly through a titanium alloy binding domain in the chimeric peptide. The efficiency of chimeric peptide both in-solution and absorbed onto titanium alloy surface was evaluatedin vitroagainst three common human host infectious bacteria,S. mutans, S. epidermidis, andE. coli. In biological interactions such as occurs on implants, it is the surface and the interface that dictate the ultimate outcome. Controlling the implant surface by creating an interface composed chimeric peptides may therefore open up new possibilities to cover the implant site and tailor it to a desirable bioactivity.
authors.affiliation: GEMSEC, Genetically Engineered Materials Science and Engineering Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
authors.forename: Deniz T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Yucesoy
authors.affiliation: GEMSEC, Genetically Engineered Materials Science and Engineering Center, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
authors.forename: Marketa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hnilova
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Program and Bioengineering Research Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS-66045.
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Boone
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Spinal Cord Injury Center, School of Medicine, University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA.
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.affiliation: Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
authors.forename: Malcolm L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Snead
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Bioengineering Research Center, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS-66045 ctamerler@ku.edu , + 7858642984.
authors.forename: Candan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tamerler
keywords: Antimicrobial coatings; Bio-material interfaces; Bioactivity; Biointerface; Biological surface functionalization; Infection-free implants