ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Translational Medicine
Dual-Functional Sulfonated PEEK Implants via Graphene Oxide–Mediated BMP-2 Gene Delivery: Enhanced Osteogenic and Antibacterial Performance In Vitro
Yueying Pan
Bumairemu Yiminjiang
Adilai Abula
Refeina Tuerxun
Maihefuzi Aishan
First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China
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Abstract
Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is widely explored as an implant material due to its bone-like mechanics, but its bioinert surface and bacterial susceptibility restrict clinical use. Here, graphene oxide (GO) was functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and complexed with a bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) plasmid to form a GO-PEG/pBMP-2 complex, which was coated onto sulfonated PEEK (SPEEK) via freeze-drying. The resulting SPEEK-(GO-PEG/pBMP-2) composites were systematically compared with PEEK, SPEEK, and SPEEK-GO-PEG. Characterization confirmed successful PEGylation, efficient gene loading, and uniform surface coating, resulting in enhanced hydrophilicity. In vitro, SPEEK-(GO-PEG/pBMP-2) markedly promoted cell adhesion, proliferation, and viability, alongside elevated alkaline phosphatase activity, mineralized matrix deposition, and upregulation of osteogenic genes. Both GO-containing groups exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, with no significant difference between PEG-and BMP-2-loaded coatings. Collectively, these findings highlight BMP-2 gene-loaded GO-PEG coatings on SPEEK as a multifunctional platform that simultaneously enhances osteogenesis and confers antibacterial activity, offering promise for next-generation bone implants.
Summary
Keywords
Antibacterial, bonemorphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), gene delivery, Graphene oxide (GO), Osteogenesis, Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)
Received
09 December 2025
Accepted
18 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Pan, Yiminjiang, Abula, Tuerxun and Aishan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Maihefuzi Aishan
Disclaimer
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