Abstract: Objective To explore the osteogenic activity of polyetheretherketone/58S bioactive glasses (PEEK/58S) as a kind of bone implant. Methods MG-63 osteoblasts were cultured on PEEK and PEEK/58S surfaces for predetermined time. Then MG-63 osteoblast attachment and spreading condition were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The proliferation activity of MG-63 osteoblast was evaluated by CCK-8 (cell counting kit). Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was measured to determine the osteogenic differentiation of MG-63 osteoblast. The mRNA expression levels of osteogenesis-related genes ALP, BMP-2, COL-I, OCN and OPN were detected using real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. Osseointegration of PEEK and PEEK/58S bone implant was evaluated by histological analysis and biomechanical pull-out tests after implantation in a rat tibia model for 12 weeks. Results Compared with the PEEK, the adhesion and spreading of MG-63 osteoblast was more favorable. The proliferation activity and ALP activity of MG-63 osteoblast was significantly promoted (P＜0.05). Also, the mRNA expression of ALP, BMP-2, COL-I, OCN and OPN was significantly up-regulated (P＜0.05). In vivo experiments showed that PEEK/58S exhibited better osseointegration than pure PEEK. Conclusions PEEK/58S bone implant significantly improves the attachment, spreading, proliferation and differentiation of osteoblast and enhances the peri-implant osseointegration, so it is a potential novel orthopedic material for clinical use.

Key words: polyetheretherketone, 58S bioactive glasses, bioactivity, osteogenic activity, osseointegration