Long-term postoperative treatment of open fractures using <i>in situ</i> medicine delivery based on mesoporous MCM-41/hydrogel composites

Open fracture surgery is one of the common emergency procedures in orthopedics. It requires effective postoperative management, including anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial measures, as well as promotion of bone cell growth. Due to the higher risk of infection and challenges in fracture healing associated with open fractures, the development of effective long-acting postoperative therapeutic drug delivery materials is crucial. In this study, we demonstrate the development of one spontaneous administration for the postoperative maintenance and treatment of open fractures. By integrating medicine-loaded mesoporous molecular sieves (MMMSs) with hydrogels, a composite material termed nanoporous medicine composite hydrogel (NMCH) was formulated. Through adjusting the proportions of hydrogel monomers and molecular sieves, this material attained mechanical properties akin to periosteum. Physicochemical studies including XRD, SEM, TEM, UV absorption, and N₂ adsorption confirmed excellent drug-loading capabilities of the composite material. Furthermore, antibacterial experiments, cell proliferation assays, and mouse paw edema tests validated significant effects of the drug-loaded composite material in antibacterial activity, promotion of osteoblast growth, and anti-inflammatory properties, demonstrating its enormous potential and application value in postoperative treatment of open fractures.