Preparation of mussel-inspired silver/polydopamine antibacterial biofilms on Ti–6Al–4V for dental applications

The properties of osseointegration and antibacterial ability is vital import for dental materials. Herein, we designed the multilayer TC4–Ag–polydopamine coatings, to provide TC4 with slow-release antibacterial properties whilst maintaining cytocompatibility. In brief, thickness of Ag inner layer can be easily controlled by magnetron sputtering technology. The resulting top polydopamine layer protected the Ag well from corrosion and gave a sustained release of Ag(+) up to one month. In addition, the prepared TC4–Ag–polydopamine samples with Ag thickness of 20 and 30 nm, showed high hydrophilic performance with the contact-angle less than 20°, low cytotoxicity and good cytocompatibility. Expectedly, it could become a prospective candidate for future slow-release antibacterial dental materials.