Preparation and Biological Properties of Estradiol‐Cyclodextrin‐Polydopamine Functional Coating on Polypropylene Mesh Surface

ABSTRACT Polypropylene (PP) biological meshes are the most widely used implantable materials for the clinical treatment of pelvic organ prolapse (POP). To address the inflammation and impaired tissue repair associated with mesh implantation, as well as to compensate for estrogen deficiency in postmenopausal women (a high‐risk group for POP), this study designed and optimized a biofunctional coating for PP mesh. Using polydopamine (PDA) as a mediator, estradiol (E2, a natural estrogen) was loaded onto the mesh surface to construct a composite functional coating. The fabrication process involved three key steps: first, the PP mesh surface was activated via oxygen plasma treatment at 0.3–0.4 mBar for 3 min to achieve thorough cleaning and surface activation. Second, a uniform PDA coating was deposited under light‐protected conditions using a 4 mg/mL dopamine solution at pH 8.5. Finally, a gel solution containing E2 and randomly methylated β‐cyclodextrin (RAMEB) at a 1:2 molar ratio was loaded onto the PDA layer to form the E2‐loaded composite coating. Material characterization was performed using micro‐Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (Micro‐FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy/energy‐dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) to analyze the coating's composition and morphology. The biological performance was evaluated through hydrophilicity testing and in vitro co‐culture with L929 fibroblasts. Results demonstrated that the PDA‐mediated E2‐loaded coating exhibited excellent cytocompatibility, significantly promoting cell adhesion, spreading, and proliferation.