Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
MATERIALS TODAY COMMUNICATIONS, cilt.32, 2022 (SCI-Expanded)
It takes a long physical, psychological, and costly period to treat implant-associated infections. 316 L Stainless Steel (SS) is commonly used in orthopedic prostheses and cardiovascular implants. However, it has been reported that 316 L stainless steel corrodes due to the high chloride concentration in physiological body fluid, thus releasing metal ions such as Ni and Cr. Our previous study revealed that niobium oxynitride coatings are non-cytotoxic. In this study, 316 L SS were coated with silver (Ag)-doped niobium oxynitride to prevent surgical site infections. Next, the microstructure, morphology, hardness, and wettability of the coatings were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), nanoindentation, and an optical tensiometer, respectively. Then, corrosion tests were done in lactated Ringer's solution to simulate the body environment. Its antibacterial properties were detected through the bacterial growth and spread of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria. Furthermore, the ion release from the coated and uncoated samples were evaluated through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Ag-doped NbOxNy coatings have a dominant amorphous structure, and the surface roughness of the coatings increased with the addition of silver. Besides, the contact angles of the Ag-doped NbOxNy coatings decreased compared to undoped ones, thus increasing their wettability with the addition of Ag. The Ag maintained a metallic form in the coating. Ag-doped coatings demonstrated antibacterial activity toward E.coli and S.aureus bacterial strains. The antibacterial test results show that Ag-doped niobium oxynitride structures effectively reduce S. aureus, which often causes surgical site infections, and inhibit the release of Cr and Ni ions from the stainless steel into the corrosive environment.