Processing of nanotubes on NiTi-shape memory alloys and their modification with photografted anti-adhesive polymer brushes. Towards smart implant surfaces

A Bacteria and Cell Repellent Zwitterionic Polymer Coating on Titanium Base Substrates towards Smart Implant Devices

“…The first approach mainly relies on leachable microbicides, such as silver nanoparticles [44][45][46], antibiotics, anti-microbial peptides [47], nitric oxides, and others [48,49], by way of temporarily impregnating the implant surface. Surface coatings with stable polymer coatings, in some cases together with nano-or micro-patterning, constitute the second approach [19,[50][51][52][53]. Moreover, the topographical effects on biofilm formation have been also investigated, and limited favorable effects of roughened and chemically non-modified surfaces have been reported for biofilm formation in comparison to smooth surfaces [37,54].…”

“…Zwitterionic polymer films (2D) and coatings (3D) may be used with various material surfaces and nanoparticles using well-established protocols [2,3,6]. Among such processes, photopolymerization has only received limited interest, despite the fact that it is a relatively simple coating method, commonly implying often short processing times and only requiring a few precursors, e.g., a monomer, initiator, and appropriate solvent [19,57]. As outlined above (see the experimental section), a simple photopolymerization process was developed in this work for the coating of titanium substrates with polySBMA, but this process can be extended to other substrates [19,20].…”

“…The sheets were cut into 0.75 × 1 cm 2 samples, degreased in 9.9% ethanol in an ultrasonic bath, rinsed twice with ethanol, and then dried with compressed air. These substrates were then treated with oxygen plasma (300 W; 0.2 mbar O 2 pressure; Plasma Technology, Herrenberg Gültstein, Germany) for 5 min and 30 s. Subsequent to this activation treatment, the substrates were immediately primed with TMSPMA using a chemical vapor deposition process as described in previous articles [19,20]. Coating onto the primed substrate surfaces with polySBMA was conducted using a photopolymerization process.…”

“…Zwitterionic polymer films appear to be among the most promising strategies as they fulfill the required functionality with simultaneous proven biocompatibility [3]. In recent works [19,20], it has been shown that polySBMA (poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate)) can be successfully grafted from/onto the pore walls of porous aluminum and titanium oxide films (obtained via anodization of the metal) using a versatile and environmentally friendly photografting method. The polySBMA films were shown to wet the pore walls, leading to the creation of a 3D nanocomposite that was mechanically resistant and particularly effective at repelling proteins and bacteria.…”

Wind Tunnel Research on the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Rotor Blade Setting Angle

“…Morphing is a technology, inspired by nature, dedicated to the next generation of aircraft. Unmanned aerial vehicles can provide a safe platform for testing intelligent materials which are becoming increasingly popular [7,20,25]. The works [28,29] present the preliminary results of the tests of the main rotor designed to be integrated with the blades with a variable blade setting angle.…”