Highly Durable Antimicrobial Tantalum Nitride/Copper Coatings on Stainless Steel Deposited by Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering.

Highly durable and antimicrobial tantalum nitride/copper (TaN/Cu) nanocomposite coatings were deposited on D-9 stainless steel substrates by pulsed magnetron sputtering. The Cu content in the coating was varied in the range of 1.42-35.42 atomic % (at.%). The coatings were characterized by electron probe microanalyzer, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope. The antibacterial properties of the TaN/Cu coatings against gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa were evaluated using a cell culture test. The peak hardness and Young's modulus of TaN/Cu with 10.46 at.% Cu were 24 and 295 GPa, respectively, which amounted to 15 and 41.67% higher than Cu-free TaN. Among all, TaN/Cu with 10.46 at.% exhibited the lowest friction coefficient. The TaN/Cu coatings exhibited significantly higher antibacterial activity than Cu-free TaN against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. On TaN, the bacterial count was about 4 × 106 CFU, whereas it was dropped to 1.2 × 102 CFU in case of TaN/Cu with 10.46 at.% Cu. The bacterial count was decreased from 9 to 6 when the Cu content increased from 25.54 to 30.04 at.%. Live bacterial cells were observed in the SEM images of TaN, and dead cells were found on TaN/Cu. Overall, TaN/Cu with 10.46 at.% Cu was found to be a potential coating composition in terms of higher antimicrobial activity and mechanical durability.

Structural, Morphological and Antibacterial Investigation of Ag-Impregnated Sol-Gel-Derived 45S5 NanoBioglass Systems.

An increasing percentage of ageing population requires 30-year survivability of orthopedic devices that is not possible with the current bioinert materials, having a maximum of 15-year survivability. To satisfy this growing need, a shift is needed from replacement of tissues to regeneration of tissues. This is highly possible through the use of silica-bioactive glasses. However, a failure of implant can occur due to infections even by using such materials. Advances in using silver for antibacterial applications have been commercialized. However, higher concentrations of silver also lead to toxic effects. In this study, nanoBioglass 45S5 (NBG) and Ag-NBG were synthesized by using sol-gel method followed by solution-phase method, respectively. The bioactive crystals such as Na2Ca2Si3O9, CaCO3, and AgPO3, very much needed in the field of bone tissue engineering and in antibacterial strategies, were obtained in the NBG Matrix. The morphological investigation of NBG with 1 mM Ag+ concentrations shows the nanospikes arrangement of size 30-40 nm with spherical porous structure of size 10-20 nm, which supports the formation of collagen molecular fibrils on the surface of NBG matrices and enhances osseointegration. Both gram-positive and gram-negative strains show higher antibacterial activity for nanoBioglass with 1 mM Ag+ concentration.

Development of a CrN/Cu nanocomposite coating on titanium-modified stainless steel for antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

A relatively simple method was developed to fabricate CrN/Cu nanocomposite coatings using pulsed DC magnetron sputtering for application in antibacterial activity. These nanocomposite coatings were applied on titanium (Ti)-modified stainless steel substrata (D-9 alloy) and the antibacterial activity of these coating with respect to the Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated qualitatively and quantitatively. Scanning electron microscopy, epifluorescence microscope analyses, and total viable counts confirmed that inclusion of copper in the CrN/Cu nanocomposite coatings provided antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa. The quantitative examination of the bacterial activity of P. aeruginosa was estimated by the survival ratio as calculated from the number of viable cells which formed colonies on nutrient agar plates.