Titanium implants have been widely used for many medical applications, but bacterial infection after implant surgery remains one of the most common and intractable complications. To this end, long-term antibacterial ability of the implant surface is highly desirable to prevent implant-associated infection. In this study, a novel antibacterial coating containing a new antibacterial agent, (Z-)-4-bromo-5-(bromomethylene)-2(5H)-furanone loaded poly(L-lactic acid) nanoparticles, was fabricated on microarc-oxidized titanium for this purpose. The antibacterial coating produced a unique inhibition zone against Staphylococcus aureus throughout a 60-day study period, which is normally long enough to prevent the infection around implants in the early and intermediate stages. The antibacterial rate for adherent S. aureus was about 100% in the first 10 days and constantly remained over 90% in the following 20 days. Fluorescence staining of adherent S. aureus also confirmed the excellent antibacterial ability of the antibacterial coating. Moreover, in vitro experiments showed an enhanced osteoblast adhesion and proliferation on the antibacterial coating, and more notable cell spread was observed at the early stage. It is therefore concluded that the fabricated antibacterial coating, which exhibits relatively long-term antibacterial ability and excellent biological performance, is a potential and promising strategy to prevent implant-associated infection.
Keywords: microarc oxidation; osteoblasts.