Facile fabrication of the zoledronate-incorporated coating on magnesium alloy for orthopaedic implants

Abstract Bisphosphonates (BPs) are known as a group of well-established drugs that are clinically used in metabolic bone disorder–related therapies. Recently, increasing interests are focused on the application of BPs in biodegradable Mg-based implants. In this study, a facile method was applied to fabricate a zoledronate-loaded coating on AZ31 Mg alloy in comparison with the previous construction strategies, such as Ca–P chelation with BPs. The results showed that the fluoride-pretreated coating could provide better corrosion resistance. Zoledronic acid was successfully loaded on the surface of Mg alloy, detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, and the release profile was quantified by UV detection. It is considered that this construction of zoledronate-coated Mg-based orthopaedic implants could be easily and efficiently used in the clinic.