Towards long-lasting antibacterial stainless steel surfaces by combining double glow plasma silvering with active screen plasma nitriding

Antibacterial surface modification of biomedical materials has evolved as a potentially effective method for preventing bacterial proliferation on the surfaces of devices. However, thin antibacterial coatings or modified layers can be easily worn down when interacting with other surfaces in relative motion, thus leading to a low durability of the antibacterial surface. To this end, novel biomaterial surfaces with antibacterial Ag agents and a wear-resistant S-phase have been generated on stainless steel by duplex plasma silvering–nitriding techniques for application to load-bearing medical devices. The chemical composition, microstructure, surface topography, roughness and wettability of SS surfaces were characterised using glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy/wavelength dispersive spectrometry (WDS), X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and a contact angle goniometer. Optimal surface design for high antimicrobial activity and prolonged durability has been achieved, as evidenced by rapid bacterial killing rates (within 6 h), an ultra hard matrix (875 ± 25 Hv), high load-bearing capacity (critical load 37 N) and excellent wear resistance (wear rate 4.9 × 10−6 mm3 m−1). Ag embedded in the hard substrate of fcc compounds M4N (M = Fe, Cr, Ag, etc.) and the expanded fcc nitrogen S-phase shows deep infiltration of 6 ± 1 μm, and provides bactericidal activity against both Gram-negative Escherichia coli NCTC 10418 and Gram-positive Staphylococcus epidermidis NCTC 11047 of over 97% and 90%, respectively, within 6 h. The presence of silver in the surface before and after scratching under a progressive load applied up to 60 N using a diamond stylus was confirmed by WDS.