Surface Modifications Of Titanium With Covalently-Bonded Silver Nanoparticles For Antimicrobial Applications

Formation of biofilm on implant surface is one of the major causes for port-operative infection. Incorporation of antimicrobial silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on implant surface has been studied as an effective remedy in recent decades. This paper presents a novel AgNPs-titanium composite foil manufactured through covalent attachment of AgNPs for biofilm control. This composite foil was fabricated by a series of chemical reactions including thiol-derivatization and formation of Ag-S covalent bonds. The film structure and properties were characterized through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) and surface profiling. The antimicrobial performance was examined against gram positive bacterial strain Staphylococcus aureus. Results indicate that the prepared composite foil effectively reduced bacterial attachment in short term exposure and possess high stability against the release of nanoparticles. This novel antimicrobial composite material has a great potential to be used in the future biomedical instrumentation.