Osteoarthritis is associated with the significantly increased friction of the joint, which results in progressive and irreversible damage to the articular cartilage. A synergistic therapy integrating lubrication enhancement and drug delivery is recently proposed for the treatment of early-stage osteoarthritis. In the present study, bioinspired by the self-adhesion performance of mussels and super-lubrication property of articular cartilages, a biomimetic self-adhesive dopamine methacrylamide—poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (DMA—MPC) copolymer was designed and synthesized via free radical polymerization. The copolymer was successfully modified onto the surface of biodegradable mesoporous silica nanoparticles (bMSNs) by the dip-coating method to prepare the dual-functional nanoparticles (bMSNs@DMA—MPC), which were evaluated using a series of surface characterizations including the transmission electron microscope (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), etc. The tribological test and in vitro drug release test demonstrated that the developed nanoparticles were endowed with improved lubrication performance and achieved the sustained release of an anti-inflammatory drug, i.e., diclofenac sodium (DS). In addition, the in vitro biodegradation test showed that the nanoparticles were almost completely biodegraded within 10 d. Furthermore, the dual-functional nanoparticles were biocompatible and effectively reduced the expression levels of two inflammation factors such as interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). In summary, the surface functionalized nanoparticles with improved lubrication and local drug release can be applied as a potential intra-articularly injected biolubricant for synergistic treatment of early-stage osteoarthritis.

骨关节炎与关节摩擦力显着增加有关，这会导致关节软骨进行性和不可逆的损伤。最近提出了一种整合润滑增强和药物输送的协同疗法来治疗早期骨关节炎。在本研究中，受贻贝的自粘性能和关节软骨的超润滑特性的启发，设计并合成了一种仿生自粘多巴胺甲基丙烯酰胺-聚（2-甲基丙烯酰氧基乙基磷酸胆碱）（DMA-MPC）共聚物。自由基聚合。通过浸涂法将该共聚物成功改性在可生物降解的介孔二氧化硅纳米粒子（bMSNs）表面，制备出双功能纳米粒子（bMSNs@DMA-MPC），体外药物释放试验表明，开发的纳米颗粒具有改善的润滑性能，并实现了抗炎药物双氯芬酸钠（DS）的持续释放。此外，体外生物降解试验表明，纳米颗粒在 10 d 内几乎完全生物降解。此外，双功能纳米颗粒具有生物相容性，可有效降低两种炎症因子如白细胞介素 1β（IL-1β）和白细胞介素 6（IL-6）的表达水平。总之，具有改善润滑和局部药物释放的表面功能化纳米颗粒可用作潜在的关节内注射生物润滑剂，用于协同治疗早期骨关节炎。