Scientists in Slovenia have developed an antibacterial material for medical implants and showed that it is safe in mice, supporting its potential use in humans.
Medical implants, commonly made from durable and biocompatible titanium mixtures of metals — alloys — are essential for repairing and replacing tissues, such as damaged joints (like hips or knees) or missing bone segments after injury or tumour removal. However, bacterial infections after implant surgery affect 1–5% of patients, highlighting the need to develop safe materials with antimicrobial properties that resist infections.
A multidisciplinary team from the Mechanical Engineering and Biotechnical Faculties at the University of Ljubljana, the Jožef Stefan Institute and the Valdoltra Orthopaedic Hospital developed a titanium alloy containing a small amount of copper, which is known for its antibacterial activity, and evaluated its biological safety in mice.
The alloy was produced using a laser-based 3D printing technique and analysed to guarantee that it maintained the mechanical properties of standard implant materials. Then, the team inserted small implants under the skin of mice, using a minimally invasive surgery under anaesthesia, to assess whether the material affected their health or caused inflammation over time.
Mice showed no signs of discomfort or disease over a 56-day observation period, and a detailed analysis of blood, tissues and organs showed that the implants did not have toxic effects.
“Animal studies are essential to confirm that new implant materials are safe before they can be considered for clinical use,” reads the study published in Journal of Materials Research and Technology.
Guest author
Maša Čater, EARA Ambassador in Slovenia
Disclaimer: The author of this article is also a co-author of the published study.
The study was done in collaboration between the University of Ljubljana (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, and Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Animal Science), the Jožef Stefan Institute (Department of Physical and Organic Chemistry, and Department of Environmental Sciences), and the Valdoltra Orthopaedic Hospital.
Antibakterijski material za medicinske vsadke je varen, kažejo testiranja na miših
Znanstveniki v Sloveniji so razvili nov antibakterijski material za medicinske vsadke in pokazali, da je varen pri miših, kar podpira njegov potencial za uporabo pri ljudeh.
Medicinski vsadki, ki so običajno izdelani iz trpežnih in biokompatibilnih titanovih zlitin (zmesi kovin), so ključni za obnovo in nadomeščanje tkiv, na primer poškodovanih sklepov (kot so kolki ali kolena) ali manjkajočih delov kosti po poškodbi ali odstranitvi tumorja. Vendar bakterijske okužbe po operaciji vsadka prizadenejo 1–5 % bolnikov, kar poudarja potrebo po razvoju varnih materialov z antimikrobnimi lastnostmi, ki preprečujejo okužbe.
Multidisciplinarna ekipa s Fakultete za strojništvo in Biotehniške fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani, Instituta Jožef Stefan ter Ortopedske bolnišnice Valdoltra je razvila titanovo zlitino, ki vsebuje majhno količino bakra, znanega po svojem antibakterijskem delovanju, ter ocenila njeno biološko varnost pri miših.
Zlitina je bila izdelana z lasersko podprto tehniko 3D-tiskanja in podrobno analizirana, da so zagotovili ohranitev mehanskih lastnosti standardnih materialov za vsadke. Nato je ekipa z minimalno invazivnim kirurškim posegom v anesteziji vstavila majhne vsadke pod kožo miši, da bi ocenila, ali material vpliva na njihovo zdravje ali povzroča vnetje skozi čas.
Pri miših v 56-dnevnem obdobju opazovanja niso opazili znakov nelagodja ali bolezni, podrobna analiza krvi, tkiv in organov pa je pokazala, da vsadki niso imeli toksičnih učinkov.
»Študije na živalih so ključne za potrditev, da so novi materiali za vsadke varni, preden jih lahko obravnavamo za klinično uporabo,« navaja študija, objavljena v reviji Journal of Materials Research and Technology.
Maša Čater
Izjava o omejitvi odgovornosti: avtorica tega članka je tudi soavtorica objavljene študije.
Študija je bila izvedena v sodelovanju med Univerzo v Ljubljani (Fakulteta za strojništvo in Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za zootehniko), Institutom Jožef Stefan (Oddelek za fizikalno in organsko kemijo ter Oddelek za znanosti o okolju) ter Ortopedsko bolnišnico Valdoltra.
Illustration by Maša Čater.