Candida albicans aspects of binary titanium alloys for biomedical applications

Abstract

Titanium and its alloys are widely used in biomedical devices, e.g. implants, due to its biocompatibility and osseointegration ability. In fact, fungal (Candida spp.) infection has been identified as one of the key reasons causing the failure of the device that is inevitable and impactful to the society. Thus, this study evaluated the surface morphology, surface chemical composition and Candida albicans adhesion on specimens of 16 binary Ti-alloys (∼5 wt% of any one of the alloy elements: Ag, Al, Au, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, In, Mn, Mo, Nb, Pd, Pt, Sn, V and Zr) compared with cp-Ti, targeting to seek for the binary Ti-alloys which has the lowest C. albicans infection. Candida albicans cultures were grown on the specimens for 48 h, and colony forming units (CFUs) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were used to evaluate the biofilm formation ability. Scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed the formation of C. albicans biofilm on all specimens’ surfaces, such that CFU results showed Ti-Mo, Ti-Zr, Ti-Al and Ti-V have less C. albicans formed on the surfaces than cp-Ti. RT-PCR showed Ti-Zr and Ti-Cu have significantly higher C. albicans DNA concentrations than Ti-Al and Ti-V (P < 0.05), whereas Ti-Cu has even showed a statistically higher concentration than Ti-Au, Ti-Co, Ti-In and Ti-Pt (P < 0.05). This study confirmed that Ti-Mo, Ti-Zr, Ti-Al and Ti-V have lower the occurrence of C. albicans which might be clinically advantageous for medical devices, but Ti-Cu should be used in caution.

Self-Assembled PHMB Titanium Coating Enables Anti-Fusobacterium nucleatum Strategy

“…Nonetheless, it should be noted that this proof-of-concept study only showed the UV-treated titanium surface can be coated with various percentages of PHMB and retained for certain time, which could be a strategy for maintaining a low occurrence of F. nucleatum and possibly preventing re-infection on the titanium. This kind of easy self-assembled coating can also be applied to different titanium-based medical applications, such as orthodontics [42,43], dentofacial orthopaedics [44,45], and other implant medical devices [5] that are prone to infection. This variety of applications might need different concentrations for the optimal application of PHMB.…”

“…Although titanium is considered an ideal material for implant dentistry and other implantable medical devices [5], implant failure still occurs [6]. One of the major reasons for failure is infections caused by bacteria, such as peri-implantitis [7].…”

Biological properties of Cu-bearing and Ag-bearing titanium-based alloys and their surface modifications: A review of antibacterial aspect

“…To prevent infection and ensure high success rates in clinical applications of medical devices and implants made from Ti-Zr alloys, antimicrobial performance should be improved. Chen et al (2020) confirmed that Ti-Zr has a lower occurrence of Candida Albicans (C. Albicans) which might be clinically advantageous for medical devices, but the antibacterial mechanism still needs to be explored. To further improve the antibacterial properties of Ti-Zr alloys, adding antibacterial elements like Cu to improve their antibacterial properties is a good choice.…”

A state-of-the-art review of the fabrication and characteristics of titanium and its alloys for biomedical applications

“…Cell culture experiments on osteoblast cells with Ti–5Nb– x Fe alloys showed that the rate of cell proliferation is related to the amount of Fe and the chemical bonding between Fe and cells and that Fe with specific ratio has good biocompatibility [ 199 ]. The ranking of elements added to Ti in bioimplants regarding their cell viability enhancing effect, from lowest to highest, is Cu < Al < Ag < V < Mn < Cr < Zr < Nb < Mo < Cp-Ti, and that regarding their cytotoxicity is Cp-Ti < Sn < Ta < Mo < Nb < Zr < Cr < Mn < V < Ag < Ni = Al < Cu [ 200 – 204 ].…”