Immobilisation of an antibacterial drug to Ti6Al4V components fabricated using selective laser melting

- Parts fabricated using selective laser melting were coated with Ciprofloxacin®.
- The total amount of drug coated was approximately 1 μg/cm2.
- The coating was highly stable under oxidative conditions.
- In-vitro studies showed a sustained release of the drug for over 42 days.
- Ciprofloxacin® eluted from the Ti6Al4V surface inhibited bacterial growth.

Bacterial infections from biomedical implants and surgical devices are a major problem in orthopaedic, dental and vascular surgery. Although the sources of contaminations that lead to bacterial infections are known, it is not possible to control or avoid such infections completely. In this study, an approach to immobilise Ciprofloxacin® (an antibacterial drug) to phosphonic acid based self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) adsorbed on a selectively laser melted (SLM) Ti6Al4V structure, has been presented. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and static water contact angle measurements confirmed the attachment of SAMs and the drug. Results showed that Ciprofloxacin® is highly stable under the oxidative conditions used in this study. In-vitro stability was estimated by immersing the Ciprofloxacin® immobilised substrates in 10 mM of Tris-HCl buffer (pH-7.4) for 42 days. The Tris-HCl buffer was analysed using UV-vis spectrophotometry at 7, 14, 28 and 42 day time intervals to determine the release of the immobilised drug. The drug was observed to release in a sustained manner. 50% of the drug was released after 4 weeks with approximately 40% of the drug remaining after 6 weeks. Antibacterial susceptibility tests revealed that the immobilised drug was therapeutically active upon its release. This study demonstrates the potential to use self-assembled monolayers to modify SLM fabricated surfaces with therapeutics.

The potential integration of selective laser melting (SLM) with surface modification using self-assembled monolayers for biomedical application has been investigated. Ciprofloxacin® was functionalised to the SLM fabricated Ti6Al4V surface. Sustained release of the drug under in-vitro condition was witnessed. The inhibition zones showed the eluted drug was active against Staphylococcus aureus (a) and Escherichia coli (b) upon its release from the SLM fabricated part.293