Modification of Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) Implants: From Enhancing Bone Integration to Enabling Multi-Modal Therapeutics

Abstract

Since its commercialization in 1990s, application of implantable PEEK has grown exponentially in the biomedical field and rapidly transformed a large section of the medical devices landscape. Despite the wide biomedical applications, the lack of bioactivity of PEEK remains a limitation. The commonly seen bacterial infection at the surgical site also requires effective mitigation strategies. Today, there is an increasing demand for functional bone implants with fast bone integration capability as well as other desirable therapeutic functions. As such, modification of PEEK has progressively expanded from offering desirable mechanical properties, enhanced bioactivity / osteointegration, to more recently, tackling bacterial infection / biofilm formation / inflammation and the management of bone cancers. Despite the high volume of PEEK implant papers published in the literature, no review has yet comprehensively covered the recently engaged areas of functional PEEK implants. This paper provides an up-to-date review on the development in PEEK implants the past decade, with particularly focus on modifying PEEK for multi-modal therapeutics (e.g. bone regeneration, anti-bacteria/anti-inflammation, cancer inhibition, etc). We aim to provide a timely update and a better understanding of the latest advancement in the field, which may guide and inspire the R&D of next generation PEEK-based healthcare products.