Mitigation of Staphylococcus aureus-Mediated Surgical Site Infections with IR Photoactivated TiO2 coatings on Ti Implants

Surgical site infections caused by methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, MSSA) lead to patient hospitalization for an extended period coupled with concomitant hospitalization resources and cost. The detrimental effect resulting from the onset of these infections poses great health risks, leading to death in some instances. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is endowed with the unique capability of photoactivity which has been extensively exploited in antibacterial activities. It has been shown to be very effective in its bactericidal efficacy against infection-causing bacterial strains, namely, E. coli and S. aureus. In this study, the use of IR-photoactivated TiO2 nanocoatings on titanium implants to mitigate the onset of surgical site infections is described. TiO2 coatings were created on implantable materials by way of an aqueous plasma electrodeposition technique and were used to mitigate the harmful bacterial growth upon brief activation by an infrared (IR) laser source. The necrosis of S. aureus cells was found to exceed 90% within 30 min. following a 30s exposure of the titania-coated model implants (Ti mesh and plate). Promising potential of antibacterial coatings in mitigating surgical site infections has been shown.