Fighting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Infections by Surface Biofunctionalization of 3D-Printed Porous Titanium Implants with Reduced Graphene Oxide and Silver Nanoparticles

H. San*, M. Paresoglou, M.B. Minneboo, I.A.J. van Hengel, A. Yilmaz, Y. Gonzalez Garcia, Ad C. Fluit, P.L. Hagedoorn, E.L. Fratila-Apachitei, I. Apachitei*, A.A. Zadpoor

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

15 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Nanoparticles (NPs) have high multifunctional potential to simultaneously enhance implant osseointegration and prevent infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Here, we present the first report on using plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) to incorporate different combinations of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and silver (Ag) NPs on additively manufactured geometrically ordered volume-porous titanium implants. The rGO nanosheets were mainly embedded parallel with the PEO surfaces. However, the formation of ‘nano-knife’ structures (particles embedded perpendicularly to the implant surfaces) was also found around the pores of the PEO layers. Enhanced in vitro antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was observed for the rGO+Ag-containing surfaces compared to the PEO surfaces prepared only with AgNPs. This was caused by a significant improvement in the generation of reactive oxygen species, higher levels of Ag+ release, and the presence of rGO ‘nano-knife’ structures. In addition, the implants developed in this study stimulated the metabolic activity and osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast cells compared to the PEO surfaces without nanoparticles. Therefore, the PEO titanium surfaces incorporating controlled levels of rGO+Ag nanoparticles have high clinical potential as multifunctional surfaces for 3D-printed orthopaedic implants.
Original languageEnglish
Article number9204
Number of pages26
JournalInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences (Online)
Volume23
Issue number16
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • antibiotic-resistant bacteria
  • reduced graphene oxide
  • silver nanoparticles
  • plasma electrolytic oxidation
  • implant-associated infections
  • titanium
  • 3D printing

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Fighting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Infections by Surface Biofunctionalization of 3D-Printed Porous Titanium Implants with Reduced Graphene Oxide and Silver Nanoparticles'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this