Anti-bacterial silver lining for implants and 3D printed prosthetics

Most prosthetics carry a low risk of infection of below one per cent. But where implants are inserted following an accident, or must be produced at the hospital, the risk of infection can increase significantly, to up to 50 per cent.

Treating an infection involves removing the prosthetic and implanting a material that releases high levels of antibiotics to the site. This not only threatens the health of the patient, but risks adding to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Now, in an EPSRC-funded project, researchers at Birmingham University are developing implant designs and 3D printing techniques to produce surfaces that are resistant to bacterial contamination.

The team will combine technology to embed silver into the material used to build implants, with additive layer manufacturing to produce the prosthetics, according to Birmingham’s Prof. Liam Grover.

Using selective laser melting, they will use lasers to fuse powders together layer by layer, creating a porous structure to which the bacterial-resistant silver can be added.