Development of Ag nanoparticles on the surface of Ti powders by chemical reduction method and investigation of their antibacterial properties

Abstract In this work, silver (Ag) was reduced in nano-size on the surface on titanium (Ti) powder by chemical reduction method, which is a new, efficient and reproducible method. The amount of the Ag nanoparticles was at least 1.9 at. % in the Ti-Ag implant material and the typical size of these nanoparticles was under 50 nm. Owing to the powder metallurgy methods porous structure can be created and the relative density of the cold-pressed and sintered samples was 81±1%. The mechanical properties were as follows: HV0.01 (363±78), ultimate compressive true stress (470±4 MPa) and Yield strength (277±12 MPa). After the sintering process, TiAg and Ti2Ag phases were formed owing to the diffusion. The antibacterial features of Ag coated Ti powder, the sintered Ti-Ag alloy and its etched form were investigated. The strong antibacterial property was observed in the case of Ag coated Ti powder. It also turned out that E. coli bacteria in close contact of these Ti-Ag alloy surfaces cannot survive and the observed antibacterial properties may not be associated with the release of water soluble component from the alloy. Due to this local antibacterial feature of Ti-Ag alloys, they can be a good candidate for antibacterial implant material with potential biocompatibility.