Evaluation of wear properties and radiopacity of strontium oxide-coated polyether ether ketone implant for the treatment of anterior cruciate ligament rupture

One of the most common orthopedic clinic referrals is direct and indirect traumas to the knee that lead to anterior cruciate ligament rupture. The use of titanium implants is one of the ways to treat and reconstruct the cruciate ligament, which has limitations, including the release of toxic ions such as aluminum and vanadium from the titanium alloy. In the present study, the polyether ether ketone (PEEK) implant was fabricated using a CNC machine. Then the surface of the implant was coated with strontium oxide (SrO) by dip spin coating method in two temperature conditions, including ambient temperature and 70 ℃ to produce a radiopaque polymer. After coating, the wear and surface properties of the implant were evaluated. The surface morphology, microstructure, and distribution of elements on the implant surface were evaluated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-ray energy diffraction spectroscopy(EDS), and MAP analysis, respectively. The radiographic images indicated the good radiopacity level of the SrO-coated PEEK implant. The amount of weight loss for the PEEK implant and the SrO-coated PEEK implant was 0.0006 g and 0.0004 g in 1500 cycles, respectively. Good wear resistance was observed in two cycles of 500 and 1500 for the pores and surface of the SrO-coated PEEK implant. The results of the cell culture and live/dead staining showed 98% growth and proliferation of cells on the SrO-coated PEEK implant. Therefore, the findings of this study demonstrated that the SrO-coated PEEK implant can be used as a suitable alternative for the Endobutton.