Anodic Etching Surface Treatment and Antibacterial Properties of Ti-Cu

doi:10.1007/s40195-024-01734-9

Abstract

Abstract:

This study used an anodic etching (AE) method to construct a hierarchical rough surface on the surface of the Cu-bearing antibacterial titanium alloy, Ti-xCu (x = 3, 5, 7 wt%), a three-dimensional structure with nested micro-/submicro-pores and internal cavities, which is conducive to the adhesion and growth of bone cells. After AE treatment, with increase of the Cu content in the alloy, the surface of Ti-Cu alloy became sharper, with more fine micropores and internal cavities, thus increasing the surface area. The results indicated that the AE/Ti-Cu alloy exhibited good antibacterial properties and had the effect of inhibiting bacterial biofilm formation. AE treatment could increase the Cu ions release of Ti-Cu alloy in saline, and the higher the Cu content in the alloy, the more Cu ions release, resulting in stronger antibacterial performance of the alloy. AE/Ti-Cu alloy showed excellent biocompatibility, similar to the pure Ti. Therefore, anodic etching is a safe and effective surface treatment method for Ti-Cu alloy, with good clinical application prospects.

Key words: Ti-Cu alloy, Anodic etching, Rough surface, Antibacterial performance, Biocompatibility

Zenglong Yan, Shuyuan Zhang, Ling Ren, Xizhuang Bai, Ke Yang, Xiang Wei. Anodic Etching Surface Treatment and Antibacterial Properties of Ti-Cu[J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2024, 37(10): 1767-1776.

Figures/Tables 10

Table 1 Chemical compositions of Ti-xCu alloys (wt%)

Designed alloys	Cu	Fe	C	H	O	N	Ti
Ti-3Cu	2.98	0.015	0.005	0.0006	0.091	0.004	Bal.
Ti-5Cu	5.04	0.014	0.004	0.0005	0.092	0.008	Bal.
Ti-7Cu	6.81	0.016	0.007	0.0006	0.084	0.005	Bal.

Fig. 1 SEM images of the microstructures of Ti-Cu alloy surface before and after AE treatment

Fig. 2 SEM images of the surface morphology of Ti-Cu alloy after AE treatment

Table 2 Surface roughness parameters of Ti-Cu alloy after AE treatment

Materials	Surface roughness parameters
Materials	S_a (nm)	S_z (nm)	S_dr (%)	S_ku
AE/Ti-3Cu	834	8524	13.6	3.26
AE/Ti-5Cu	664	7716	12.8	3.53
AE/Ti-7Cu	590	7574	8.7	4.43

Fig. 3 SEM images of the longitudinal section of Ti-Cu alloy after AE treatment

Fig. 4 Cu ion release concentration curve of Ti-Cu alloy immersed in saline for different time

Fig. 5 a Bacterial colony photos of AE/Ti-Cu alloy and pure Ti (CP-Ti) after 24 h of contact with bacteria; b bactericidal rate calculated by RT-PCR detection and the gene expression level of S. aureus cultured for 24 h in each group of materials

Fig. 6 Observation of biofilm under laser confocal microscope after co-culturing bacteria with different materials for 24 h followed by staining

Fig. 7 Absorbance values of MC3T3 cells in the CCK-8 experiment after exposed to different materials for different time

Fig. 8 Fluorescence photos of the cytoskeleton of MC3T3 cells cultured on different material surfaces for 4 and 24 h, respectively

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