A new antibacterial titanium-copper sintered alloy: preparation and antibacterial property

Copper element was added in pure titanium by a powder metallurgy to produce a new antibacterial titanium-copper alloy (Ti-Cu alloy). This paper reported the very early stage results, emphasizing on the preparation, mechanical property and antibacterial activity. The phase constitution was analyzed by XRD and the microstructure was observed under SEM equipped with EDS. The hardness, the compressive strength and the corrosion resistance of Ti-Cu alloy were tested in comparison with cp-Ti. The antibacterial property of the Ti-Cu alloy was assessed by two methods: agar diffusion assay and plate-count method, in which Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) were used. XRD and SEM results showed that Ti2Cu phase and Cu-rich phase were synthesized in the Ti-Cu sintered alloy, which significantly increases the hardness and the compressive strength compared with cp-Ti and slightly improves the corrosion resistance. No antibacterial activity was detected by the agar diffusion assay on the Ti-Cu alloy, but the plate-count results indicated that the Ti-Cu alloy exhibited strong antibacterial property against both bacteria even after three polishing treatments, which demonstrates strongly that the whole alloy is of antibacterial activity. The antibacterial mechanism was thought to be in associated with the Cu ion released from the Ti-Cu alloy.