The article presents an investigation on the effectiveness of nanostructured titanium-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% Ag composite foams as a novel class of antibacterial materials for medical applications. The Ti-based composite foams were prepared by the combination of mechanical alloying and a "space-holder" sintering process. In the first step, the Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% Ag powder synthesized by mechanical alloying and annealing mixed with 1.0 mm diameter of saccharose crystals was finally compacted in the form of pellets. In the next step, the saccharose crystals were dissolved in water, leaving open spaces surrounded by metallic-bioceramic scaffold. The sintering of the scaffold leads to foam formation. It was found that 1:1 Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% Ag/sugar ratio leads to porosities of about 70% with pore diameter of about 0.3-1.1 mm. The microstructure, corrosion resistance in Ringer's solution of the produced foams were investigated. The value of the compression strength for the Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% Ag foam with 70% porosity was 1.5 MPa and the Young's modulus was 34 MPa. Silver modified Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass composites possess excellent antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus. Porous Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% foam could be a possible candidate for medical implants applications.
Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus; biomaterials; ceramic-metal composite; powder metallurgy.