Facile fabrication of the zoledronate-incorporated coating on magnesium alloy for orthopaedic implants

Background: Bisphosphonates (BPs) are known as a group of well-established drugs which are clinically used in metabolic bone disorder-related therapies. Recently increasing interests are focused on the application of BPs in the biodegradable Mg-based implants. Methods: In this study a facile method was applied to fabricate a zoledronate loaded coating on AZ31 Mg alloy in comparison with the previous construction strategies, such as Ca-P chelation with BPs. Results: The results showed that the fluoride pretreated coating could provide better corrosion resistance. Zoledronic acid (ZA) was successfully loaded on the surface of Mg alloy detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, and the release profile was quantified with Ultraviolet (UV) detection. Conclusion: It is considered that this construction of ZA coated Mg-based orthopedic implants could be easily and efficiently used in clinic. The translational potential of this article: Different from the traditional drug release mode, this paper used the hydrogen bond between drug molecules and drug carriers to not only realise the effective drug release in the early stage of drug release, but also meet the continuous effect of drugs in the later stage, providing a new possibility for clinical application.