Smart Thin Porous Calcium Phosphate Coatings for Local Antibiotic Delivery

Implant failure after arthroplasty due to aseptic loosening or periprosthetic joint infections remains a serious clinical challenge. To avoid these complications, bioactive ceramic coatings e.g., β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) can be used to improve the osseointegration of the prosthesis, thereby reducing the risk of aseptic loosening. Simultaneously, local antibiotic delivery from the implant surface offers a promising strategy to prevent early bacterial colonization and infection. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of incorporating the heat-sensitive antibiotic vancomycin (VAN) into β-TCP coatings using high‐velocity suspension flame spraying (HVSFS). For this, β-TCP suspensions containing VAN-loaded supraparticles were used as feedstock. In our study, we were able to show that VAN can successfully be integrated into a β-TCP-coating using the described technique. Analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography confirmed that VAN did not undergo thermal decomposition during the coating process, and the resulting spectra corresponded to those of the untreated controls. These findings establish that HVSFS can successfully embed heat‐labile antibiotics within β-TCP matrices, yielding a multifunctional implant surface that promotes bone integration while delivering localized antimicrobial therapy.