Dental implant surgery has a relatively high incidence of peri-implantitis. In this research, ZnO nanorods and ZnO nanospheres were synthesized by a hydrothermal method. ZnO nanorods first covered the surface of Ti or Ti-Zr, and ZnO nanospheres were then modified as the outermost layer. By these means a dual antibacterial effect could be realized by the rapid release of ZnO nanospheres and the sustained release of ZnO nanorods. Subsequent studies implied that this ZnO nanorods-nanospheres hierarchical structure (NRS) could be stably loaded on the surface of roughened Ti and Ti-Zr slices. The modified materials not only showed excellent antibacterial activities against both Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus but also showed low cellular cytotoxicity. This ZnO NRS structure is thus expected to be used as a general antimicrobial coating on the surface of Ti (Ti-Zr) in dental implant surgery.
Keywords: Ti; Ti−Zr; ZnO; antibacterial; implant; surface modification.