A drug delivery system constructed by a fusion peptide capturing exosomes targets to titanium implants accurately resulting the enhancement of osseointegration peri-implant

BACKGROUND: Exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSC-exos) have been shown triggering osteogenic differentiation and mineralization of MSCs, but exosomes administered via bolus injections are rapidly sequestered and cleared. Therefore, we considered the implant as a new organ of patient’s body and expected to find a method to treat implant with BMSC-exos in vivo directly. METHODS: A fusion peptide (PEP), as a drug delivery system (DDS) which contained a titanium-binding peptide (TBP) possessing the ability to selectively bind to the titanium surface and another peptide CP05 being able to capture exosomes expertly, is constructed to modify the titanium surface. RESULTS: Both in vitro and in vivo experiments prove PEP retains the ability to bind titanium and exosome simultaneously, and the DDS gain the ability to target exosomes to titanium implants surface following enhancing osseointegration post-implantation. Moreover, the DDS constructed by exosomes of diverse origins shows the similar combination rate and efficiency of therapy. CONCLUSION: This drug delivery system demonstrates the concept that EXO-PEP system can offer an accurate and efficient therapy for treating implants with long-term effect. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40824-022-00331-0.