A Sprayable Polyelectrolyte Coating to Mitigate the Foreign Body Response of Implants

The foreign body response (FBR) presents a significant challenge to biomedical implants, leading to fibrotic capsule formation that compromises implant functionality. In this study, we report a straightforward method for fabricating stable anti-fibrotic polyelectrolyte coatings on implant surfaces using industrialized ultrasonic spraying technology. The coating thickness and surface charge can be adjusted through variations in spraying time and polyelectrolyte ratio, respectively. We investigate the fibrotic response of polyelectrolyte-coated implants with varying surface charges and thicknesses. Our findings reveal that surface charge significantly influences the fibrotic response, while electronegative polyelectrolyte coatings most effectively inhibit FBR compared to electrically neutral, positively charged, and uncoated surfaces. Meanwhile, coating thickness beyond 10 μm resulted in thinner capsules than coatings at a 1 μm or nanometer scale. The simple and versatile polyelectrolyte coating method reported here holds great potential to enhance and extend the functionality of implants in a mass-produced manner by mitigating host responses to implantable biomaterials.