Antibacterial Activity of Cold Plasma—Treated Titanium Alloy

Abstract

Titanium and titanium alloys are widely considered successful biocompatible materials because titanium implants become easily connected, both structurally and functionally, to biological systems. Antibacterial activity for medical implants could be an interesting property to prevent inflammation of the implant site. In this study, cold plasma treatments were performed on a titanium surface and the antibacterial activity of treated samples was tested against Escherichia coli 32. Some plasma parameters were varied to find the best antibacterial conditions. Samples showing higher germicidal activity were obtained in several experimental set-ups, and the antibacterial activity was detected at same level 16 days after the plasma treatment. A correlation between antibacterial effect and plasma-treated titanium surface energy also was studied.