Abstract
Here, titanium porous substrates were fabricated by a space holder technique. The relationship between microstructural characteristics (pore equivalent diameter, mean free-path between pores, roughness and contact surface), mechanical properties (Young’s modulus, yield strength and dynamic micro-hardness) and bacterial behavior are discussed. The bacterial strains evaluated are often found on dental implants: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The colony-forming units increased with the size of the spacer for both types of studied strains. An antibiofouling synthetic coating based on a sulfonated polyetheretherketone polymer revealed an effective chemical surface modification for inhibiting MRSA adhesion and growth. These findings collectively suggest that porous titanium implants designed with a pore size of 100–200 µm can be considered most suitable, assuring the best biomechanical and bifunctional anti-bacterial properties.
Highlights
Bacterial infection of medical devices is one of the most common causes of implant failure.Device-associated infections are crucial health issues and usually occur during the first two years after surgery
The role of the sulfonated polyetheretherketone (SPEEK) coating is analyzed in terms of bacteria behavior
The different techniques used in this work provide a complete overview of the porosity distribution at different spatial scales, from an scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of the surface samples to a 3D
Summary
Bacterial infection of medical devices is one of the most common causes of implant failure. Device-associated infections are crucial health issues and usually occur during the first two years after surgery. Peri-implantitis is considered the most frequent inflammatory process related to infected dental implants in which bacteria can attach and colonize the area around the implants and the inner titanium (Ti) surfaces, affecting both soft and hard tissue [2]. In the last few decades, the frequency of peri-implantitis has increased from 14% to 30% [3], becoming a high-risk factor for patient health which harnesses the performance of implants. Attached bacteria can grow fast and develop a biofilm as part of normal bacteria behavior, which can be in a hospital environment, on the surface of medical implants, and/or on instruments during surgery.
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