Background and objectives: A current public health issue is preventing post-surgical complications by designing antibacterial implants. To achieve this goal, in this study we evaluated the antibacterial activity of an animal-free chitosan grafted onto a titanium alloy.
Methods: Animal-free chitosan binding on the substrate was performed by covalent link via a two-step process using TriEthoxySilylPropyl Succinic Anhydride (TESPSA) as the coupling agent. All grafting steps were studied and validated by means of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Time-of-Flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) analyses and Dynamic-mode Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (DSIMS). The antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus strains of the developed coating was assessed using the number of colony forming units (CFU).
Results: XPS showed a significant increase in the C and N atomic percentages assigned to the presence of chitosan. A thick layer of polymer deposit was detected by ToF-SIMS and the results obtained by DSIMS measurements are in agreement with ToF-SIMS and XPS analyses and confirms that the coating synthesis was a success. The developed coating was active against both gram negative and gram positive tested bacteria.
Conclusion: The success of the chitosan immobilization was proven using the surface characterization techniques applied in this study. The coating was found to be effective against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus strains.