Functional Peptide Coatings for Advanced Titanium Implants

The demand for orthopedic medical implants in humans is increasing rapidly each year. One of the major limitations of titanium implants is the rather poor bonding between the implant interface and the surrounding tissue which may lead to implant failure. Successful integration of titanium implant with living bone is determined by processes that occur at the interface between the implant and the tissue. Peptides which can be precisely designed and easily manufactured may provide solutions tailored to this need. We have developed a bifunctional peptide, DapSer, that encodes for its own self-assembly via strong coordinative bonds on titanium while inducing osseointegration and the bone tissue biomineralization. DapSer coating was characterized for its chemical and biological activity and demonstrated efficacy in rabbits in-vivo model