Staphylococcus aureus adhesion to different implant surface coatings: An in vitro study

It has previously been shown that implant surface structures have a significant influence on the susceptibility of implant to bacterial adherence. Due to the potential of the rapidly increasing osseointegration market, a great variety of novel surface coating techniques have been developed worldwide within the past twenty years. However, only a few focused on the effect of the interaction between the modified implant surface structure and its susceptibility to bacteria. To evaluate the susceptibility of implant surface to bacterial adhesion with Ti-based sandblasting (Ti_SB), Ti-based microarc oxidation (Ti_MAO) and Ti-based simulated body fluid (Ti_SBF) coatings, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), a major pathogen often found in the percutaneous implant-associated infections, was chosen as the model for this in vitro study. The adherence of S. aureus to the implanted surfaces was visualized and quantified. Final results indicated that S. aureus adherence to all the three Ti-based coatings was significantly higher than that to the pure Ti surfaces. They suggested that the Ti_SB, Ti_MAO, and Ti_SBF surface coatings promoted S. aureus adhesion, and could lead to higher occurrence of infection in vivo, compared to the pure Ti surface. Considering the optimized implant coatings' well-documented osseointegration together with their increased susceptibilities to bacteria, it is essential to perform further research on the selection of proper parameters for the implant surface coating techniques.