Recent advances in anti-infection surfaces fabricated on biomedical implants by plasma-based technology

Infection is one of the major post-surgery complications in orthopedics and dentistry and plasma-based technology is effective in mitigating infection by introducing antibacterial agents into the biomedical implants. By selecting the proper elements and operating parameters in the plasma-based processes, anti-infection and osseo-integration can be accomplished simultaneously. In this mini-review, recent advance in the design and construction of anti-infection surfaces by plasma-based techniques is discussed with emphasis on plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIII&D) and magnetron sputtering. The underlying mechanisms are discussed and a better understanding enables the design and fabrication of better anti-microbial surfaces.