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Prophylaxis and the treatment of implant-related infections has become a key focus area for research into improving the outcome of orthopedic implants. Functional resorbable coatings have been developed to provide an antimicrobial surface on the implant and reduce the risk of infection. However, resorbable coatings developed to date still suffer from low adhesive strength and an inadequate release rate of antibiotics. This study presents a novel double-coating of micro-arc oxidation and resorbable polylactide copolymer on a Ti-6Al-4V implant with the aim of reducing the risk of infection post-implantation. The adhesive strength, rate of coating degradation, and antibiotic release rate were investigated. A key finding was that the micro-arc oxidation coating with the addition of antibiotics increased the adhesive strength of the poly-l-lactide-co-ε-caprolactone (PLC) coatings. The adhesive strength was influenced by the concentration of the PLC solution, the surface structure of the titanium substrate, and the composition of the coatings. The antibiotics blended into the PLC coating had a release cycle of approximately 10 days, which would be long enough to reduce the risk of developing an infection after implantation. The double coatings presented in this study have an excellent potential for reducing the incidence and severity of implants-related early infections.

Alloying elements have vital effect on the formation of ceramic coatings. In order to research the effects of Cu, Mg, Si and Zn on plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coatings, experiments of PEO were carried out on aluminum and its alloys in sodium silicate-sodium hydroxide solutions. Its microstructure and phase composition were analyzed by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. Results showed that, high content of Cu, Si and Zn in alloys suppressed process of some reactions, Mg element had different effects on high-temperature phase transformation of alumina ceramics while its weight percentage varied.

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