Polypropylene (PP) mesh is commonly used in repairing abdominal wall hernia (AWH). However, the use of synthetic prosthesis comes with the risk of developing a prosthetic infection, resulting in delayed healing, secondary surgery, and potentially increased mortality. To address these issues, a facile surface functionalization strategy for PP mesh based on phytic acid (PA) and polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) was constructed through a one-step co-deposition process, referred to as the PA/PHMG coating. The development of PA/PHMG coating is mainly attributed to the surface affinity of PA and the electrostatic interactions between PA and PHMG. The PA/PHMG coating could be completed within 4 h under mild conditions. The prepared PA/PHMG coatings on PP mesh surfaces exhibited desirable biocompatibility toward mammalian cells and excellent antibacterial properties against the notorious "superbug" methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and tetracycline-resistant Escherichia coli (TRE). The PA/PHMG-coated PP meshes showed killing ratios of over 99% against MRSA in an infected abdominal wall hernia repair model. Furthermore, histological and immunohistochemical analysis revealed a significantly attenuated degree of neutrophil infiltration in the PA/PHMG coating group, attributed to the decreased bacterial numbers alleviating the inflammatory response at the implant sites. Meanwhile, the pristine PP and PA/PHMG-coated meshes showed effective tissue repair, with the PA/PHMG coating group exhibiting enhanced angiogenesis compared with pristine PP meshes, suggesting superior tissue restoration. Additionally, PP meshes with the highest PHMG weight ratio (PA/PHMG(3)) exhibited excellent long-term robustness under phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) immersion with a killing ratio against MRSA still exceeding 95% after 60 days of PBS immersion. The present work provides a facile and promising approach for developing antibacterial implants.
Keywords: anti-infective; hernia mesh; phytic acid; polyhexamethylene guanidine; surface modification.