Heterostructures Based on Noble Metal Films with Ag and Au Nanoparticles: Fabrication, Study of In Vivo Biocompatibility and Antibacterial Activity

In this work, approaches to the formation of multifunctional film heterostructures based on noble metals for the modification of the surface of implant materials (titanium alloy TiAl6V4 and carbon-fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone CFR-PEEK) are developed. Such heterostructures consist of continuous layers of platinum (Pt) or iridium (Ir) and antibacterial components on their surface, namely silver (nanoparticles or discontinuous films) and gold (nanoparticles). Chemical or physical gas-phase deposition methods were used for their preparation. The influence of the concentration and form of the antibacterial component on the antibacterial activity and in vivo biocompatibility of the film structures was evaluated for the first time. Differences in the dynamics of silver dissolution depending on Ag concentration in the sample and the type of bottom surface (the noble metal layer = Ir, Pt or TiAl6V4) surfaces allowed us to better understand the nature of the antibacterial action against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (S. aureus and P. aeruginosa) of Ag/M heterostructures. From in vivo histological studies using rats, the best biocompatibility was shown by the Ag/M heterostructure with a prolonged release of the low fraction of antibacterial component (Ag).