Study on antibacterial activity and cytocompatibility of Ti–6Al–4V–5Cu alloy

Abstract

A new biomedical Ti–6Al–4V–5Cu alloy with antibacterial function was developed by proper addition of copper (Cu) into Ti based alloy in this study. The microstructure, antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity of this Cu bearing titanium alloy were studied. It was found that the microstructure of Ti–6Al–4V–5Cu alloy consisted of α phase, β phase and Ti₂Cu intermetallic compound, which could obtain a considerable antibacterial ability and inhibit the formation of bacterial biofilm through trace release of cupric ions from its surface. The cytotoxicity evaluation demonstrated that Ti–6Al–4V alloy played no toxic effect on the viability of MC3T3-E1 cells, showing a satisfied biocompatibility.

Keywords:

• Ti–6Al–4V
• Copper
• Antibacterial
• Biocompatibility

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the financial supports from the National Basic Research Program of China (no. 2012CB619101), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 81271957), the Basic Research Project of Shenzhen City (no. JCYJ20120616142847342) and the Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Biomedical Functional Materials.