Silver-loaded chitosan coating as an integrated approach to face titanium implant-associated infections: analytical characterization and biological activity

The present work focuses on the idea to prevent and/or inhibit the colonization of implant surfaces by microbial pathogens responsible for post-operative infections, adjusting antimicrobial properties of the implant surface prior to its insertion. An antibacterial coating based on chitosan and silver was developed by electrodeposition techniques on poly(acrylic acid)-coated titanium substrates. When a silver salt was added during the chitosan deposition step, a stable and scalable silver incorporation was achieved. The physico-chemical composition of the coating was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), while atomic force microscopy in intermittent contact mode (ICAFM) was used to explore the coating morphology. The amount of silver released from the coating up to 21 days was evaluated by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The capability of the proposed coating to interact in vitro with the biological environment in terms of compatibility and antibacterial properties was assessed using MG-63 osteoblast-like cell line and S. aureus and P. aeruginosa strains, respectively. These studies revealed that a coating showing a silver surface atomic percentage equal to 0.3% can be effectively used as antibacterial system, while providing good viability of osteoblast-like cells after 7 days. The antibacterial effectiveness of the prepared coating is mainly driven by a contact killing mechanism, although the low concentration of silver released (below 0.1 ppm up to 21 days) is enough to inhibit bacterial growth, advantaging MG-63 cells in the race for the surface.