3D-printed porous Ti6Al4V alloys with silver coating combine osteocompatibility and antimicrobial properties

Additive manufacturing allows for the production of porous metallic implants for use in orthopaedics, providing excellent mechanical stability and osseointegration. However, the increased surface area of such porous implants also renders them susceptible to bacterial colonization. In this work, two trabecular porous Ti6Al4V alloys produced by electron beam melting were investigated for their osteocompatibility and antimicrobial effects, comparing samples with a silver-coated surface to uncoated samples. Dense grit-blasted Ti samples were used for comparison. The porous samples had pore sizes of 500-600 μm and 5 to 10 μm surface roughness, the silver-coated samples contained 7 at.% Ag, resulting in a cumulative Ag release of 3.5 ppm up to 28 days. Silver reduced the adhesion of Staphylococcus aureus to porous samples and inhibited 72 h biofilm formation by Staphylococcus epidermidis but not that of S. aureus. Primary human osteoblast adhesion, proliferation and differentiation were not impaired in the presence of silver, and expression of osteogenic genes as well as production of mineralized matrix were similar on silver-coated and uncoated samples. Our findings indicate that silver coating of porous titanium implants can achieve antimicrobial effects without compromising osteocompatibility, but higher silver contents may be needed to yield a sustained protection against fast-growing bacteria.