Plasma Ion Implanted Anti-bacterial Surface Coating for Orthopaedic Metallic Implants

Metallic materials such as titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) alloy and stainless steels are widely applied in orthopaedic surgery. However, debridement of the wound or implant due to bacterial infection is sometimes seen after surgery. Bacterial adhesion on the implant surface is an important step in the pathogenesis of bacterial infection. Inhibition of initial bacterial adhesion on the surface is essential to avoid subsequent bacterial infection. An implant surface loaded with antibiotics or solid phase peptide has been used recently. Regardless of efficient killing of bacteria, shortcomings are still there. Therefore, an alternative method needs to be considered. The research team’s preliminary results suggest the medical grade titanium alloy implanted with oxygen using plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) technology can significantly reduce the colony formation of bacteria, thereby minimizing the possibility of post-operative inflammation. However, the mechanism of this novel antibacterial property using PIII has not yet been studied. This project therefore aims to investigate the correlations between the antibacterial capabilities of the plasma engineered surface and bacterial adhesion.