A ZIF-8-based multifunctional intelligent drug release system for chronic osteomyelitis

Chronic osteomyelitis (COM) is an inflammatory bone disease caused by bacterial infection. Conventional treatment with antibiotics is prone to resistance and other side effects, and it is ineffective against inflammation caused by infection and bone loss. To treat COM comprehensively, based on the acidic microenvironment of osteomyelitis, we used ZIF-8 and celecoxib to construct a multifunctional intelligent drug release system with pH response effect, named CEL@ZIF-8. Material characterization revealed that celecoxib is successfully loaded into ZIF-8. Ion release and drug release experiments indicated that CEL@ZIF-8 can respond well to the pH and intelligently control the release of ions and drugs. Antibacterial assays manifested that CEL@ZIF-8 is able to inhibit the growth of bacteria significantly. In vitro cell experiments demonstrated that CEL@ZIF-8 can significantly up-regulate the expression of osteogenesis-related cytokines and down-regulate the levels of inflammatory factors. Studies verify that the novel drug release system possesses multiple functions: antibacterial, osteogenesis, anti-inflammatory and intelligent release, suggesting a tremendous clinical promise for the treatment of COM.