Use of silver-based additives for the development of antibacterial functionality in Laser Sintered polyamide 12 parts

Sci Rep. 2020 Jan 21;10(1):892. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-57686-4.

Abstract

Infectious diseases (exacerbated by antimicrobial resistance) cause death, loss of quality of life and economic burden globally. Materials with inherent antimicrobial properties offer the potential to reduce the spread of infection through transfer via surfaces or solutions, or to directly reduce microbial numbers in a host if used as implants. Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques offer shorter supply chains, faster delivery, mass customisation and reduced unit costs, as well as highly complicated part geometries which are potentially harder to clean and sterilise. Here, we present a new approach to introducing antibacterial properties into AM, using Laser Sintering, by combining antimicrobial and base polymer powders prior to processing. We demonstrate that the mechanical properties of the resultant composite parts are similar to standard polymer parts and reveal the mode of the antibacterial activity. We show that antibacterial activity is modulated by the presence of obstructing compounds in different experimental media, which will inform appropriate use cases. We show that the material is not toxic to mammalian cells. This material could be quickly used for commercial products, and our approach could be adopted more generally to add new functionality to Laser Sintered parts.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemistry*
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Drug Liberation
  • Fibroblasts / drug effects
  • Glass
  • Humans
  • Lasers
  • Materials Testing / methods*
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Nylons / chemistry*
  • Nylons / pharmacology
  • Phosphates / chemistry
  • Powders
  • Prostheses and Implants
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / drug effects
  • Silver / chemistry*
  • Silver / pharmacokinetics
  • Silver Compounds / chemistry
  • Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission
  • Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects
  • Tensile Strength
  • X-Ray Microtomography

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Nylons
  • Phosphates
  • Powders
  • Silver Compounds
  • Silver
  • nylon 12
  • silver phosphate