Toward Antibacterial Anodized Surfaces in Ti6Al4V Alloy Using Silver Nanoparticles and Pectin Coating for Biomedical Applications

This study investigates surface functionalization of anodized Ti6Al4V alloy with silver nanoparticles and pectin coating, aiming to enhance antibacterial properties of anodized surface for biomedical applications. To this end, silver nanoparticles with concentrations of 0.64, 0.96, and 1.28 grams in 60 mL of deionized water were applied to the anodized Ti6Al4V surface using an ion-exchange-based method. In parallel, pectin was dip-coated over the anodized surface. Finally, pectin/silver composite coatings were dip-coated on the anodized Ti6Al4V surface. Different techniques, including electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and x-ray diffractometer were used to characterize different coating layers. The inhibition zone test with two gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) and gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) was used to investigate the antibacterial effects of three mentioned surface treatment assays. The results indicated that among three proposed protocols, the best antibacterial performance was attained in the anodized Ti6Al4V surface modified using a 1.28 g mL-1 solution of silver nanoparticles. The correlation between the structure and antibacterial properties of samples are discussed.