Characterization and evaluation of anodized commercially pure titanium and titanium-aluminum-vanadium alloy surfaces for systemic antibiotic release.

Abstract

Postoperative infections are one of the most feared complications following orthopedic implant procedures. Bacterial infections occur in approximately 1-2% of the patients who undergo orthopedic implant surgery. Treatment of these infections is typically done by administering antibiotics either locally or systemically. Systemic release of antibiotics from bone cement has been reasonably successful. However, it would also be desirable to develop a method of antibiotic release from porous coated implants designed for osseointegration. The principal objective of this research was to explore the feasibility of using anodizing (electrochemical oxidation) as a surface modification technique to facilitate the attachment of antibiotics to commercially pure titanium (CP Ti) and Ti-6Al-4V orthopedic implant materials. In particular the effect of anodizing conditions on the characteristics of the oxide coating such as thickness, composition and porosity has been investigated. Using microbiological methods, the efficacy of in-vitro attachment of antibiotics to anodized surfaces was determined.