Evaluation of osteogenic and antibacterial properties of strontium/silver‐containing porous TiO2 coatings prepared by micro‐arc oxidation

Ti and Ti alloys are bioinert materials and two frequent problems associated with them are bacterial infection and lack of osteogenic potential for rapid bone integration. To overcome the problems, the present study incorporated strontium (Sr) and silver (Ag) simultaneously into porous TiO2 coatings through a single‐step technique, micro‐arc oxidation (MAO). Incorporation of Sr and Ag brought no significant changes to coating micromorphology and physicochemical properties, but endowed TiO2 coatings with both strong antibacterial activity and osteogenic ability. Antibacterial activity increased with Ag contents in the coatings. When Ag content reached 0.58 wt%, the coating showed both excellent short‐term (100.0%) and long‐term (77.6%) antibacterial activities. Sr/Ag‐containing coatings with 18.23 wt% Sr and 0.58 wt% Ag also presented good cytocompatibility for preosteoblast adhesion and proliferation, and promoted preosteoblast osteogenic differentiation both short‐termly and long‐termly. However, higher Ag content (1.29 wt%) showed toxic effects to preosteoblasts. In summary, MAO is a simple and effective way to incorporate Sr and Ag into porous TiO2 coatings and Sr/Ag‐containing TiO2 coating with 18.5 wt% Sr and 0.58 wt% Ag has both good osteogenic activity and strong antibacterial capability short‐termly and long‐termly. Therefore, such coatings are valuable for clinical application to strengthen osseointegration and long‐term high quality use of titanum implants.