The effect and cost of surgical site infections on patients undergoing implant procedures can be debilitating and disastrous in terms of quality of life in the post-surgery period; some of these infections could be life-threatening. The urgent need for techniques preventing the spread of infections has prompted research in materials that are both simple  and efficient in impeding infection.  It is possible to reduce the infection with concomitant healing at an accelerated pace by using a nanotechnological approach, exploiting materials that exhibit photoactive antimicrobial attributes.  In order to impede infection and achieve accelerated wound healing in the post-orthopedic surgery patients, simple and benign procedures for creating nanofibrillar or nanotubular structures of photoactive TiO₂ on the surface of Ti plates and wires have been developed.

Building on previous experiments by the group, commercial titanium (cpTi) plates, wires as well as mesh were used as implant surrogates.  Two different methods of coating the implants were used: hydrothermal processing and anodization.  The structural and microstructural examination of the nanocoatings thus produced showed the formation of pure TiO₂.  The nanotubes formed through anodization were endowed with a significant increase in surface area, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the material.  Biocidal efficacy of the materials was evaluated by testing their necrosis potency towards Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) bacteria.

By exposing the coated implants to an IR laser source for 24 seconds, evident and considerable cell death was seen.  Confocal microscopy results demonstrated the probability of eliminating wound infection during and after orthopedic surgical procedures, by brief illumination of photoactive titania films on the implants with an IR beam. Therefore, the use of TiO₂ nanocoatings that possess both photoactive and bactericidal properties has proven to be an effective path to promote healing and preserve tissue and bone function after surgical implantation procedures.