Nanomaterial-assisted diagnosis of bone infections: A view on current challenges and updates

Abstract

Orthopedic infections affect the joins or bones and sometimes affects both simultaneously. More often, orthopedic infections occur during and after the surgery, particularly with joint replacement surgeries of hip bone and knee bone. Most infections are arised by the bacteria Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, and Pseudomonas. On the other hand, nanomaterials have been used for implanting and bacteria are able to attach on implanted materials and damaged tissue to cause the infection. Monitoring the infection in patients during surgery is mandatory for the successful treatment and avoid further damage to the treated bones and joins. In general, diagnosis of infections is by radiological and clinical findings. Serum inflammatory biomarkers are helpful to monitoring the follow-up for orthopedic infection. Various biosensors were demonstrated well with the involvement of nanomaterials (gold, graphene, silica, metallic oxides) and biomarkers are effectively applied for monitoring orthopedic infections. This review is discussed on orthopedic infection, biofilm formation, recent development of nanomaterial-assisted biosensing technologies, and nursing for orthopedic infection.