ROS Induced Bactericidal Activity of Zn-Doped Ti-O Amorphism Outer-Layered Coatings and Enhanced Osseointegration in Bacteria-Infected Rat Tibias

Titanium-based endosseous implants with high antibacterial and osseointegration activities are extremely required in clinics. To achieve this line, herein the doped coatings with three kinds of Zn doses were micro-arc oxidized (MAOed) on Ti. They were examined to reveal a bilayered structure, in which the outer layer consisted completely of the amorphism comprising elements of Ti, O and Zn with Zn doped in the form of weaken Zn-O bonds, and the underlying layer was partially crystallized with nanocrystalline TiO2 and Zn2TiO4 to embed an amorphous matrix. While the Zn doped doses of the surface amorphous layers increased with elevating the MAOed voltages, the weaken Zn-O bonds in the amorphism were identified to act as both the contributor of Zn2+ controllable release and the generator of reactive oxide species (ROS) on the coatings. The enhanced HO· and O2-· formation on the elevated voltage MAOed coatings caused serious break of the cell walls and plasma membranes of S. aureus. In parallel, the enhanced Zn2+ release and extracellular H2O2 formation led to the enhanced intracellular ROS level of S. aureus, further aggravating the damage of plasma membrane, resulting in bacteria death. On contrary to the overdose of Zn doped coating, the moderate doses of Zn doped coatings did not induce additional intracellular ROS and attenuate viability and proliferation of osteoblasts in vitro, and promoted osseointegration in both S. aureus-uninfected and infected rat tibias, which ascribed to the strong antibacterial activity and un-attenuated cell function of the coatings in the infected case.