ABSTRACT

Background: In the oral and maxillofacial surgery, fixation plates are commonly used for the stabilization of bone fragments. Additive manufacturing has enabled us to design and create personalized fixation devices that would ideally fit any given fracture.

Aim: The aim of the present preliminary study was to assess the susceptibility of 3D-printed titanium fixation plates to biofilm formation.

Methods: Plates were manufactured using selective laser melting (SLM) from Ti-6Al-4 V. Reference strains of Streptococcus mutans, Staphyloccocus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and Candida albicans, were tested to evaluate the material’s susceptibility to biofilm formation over 48 hours. Biofilm formations were quantified by a colorimetric method and colony-forming units (CFU) quantification. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) visualized the structure of the biofilm.

Results: Surface analysis revealed the average roughness of 102.75 nm and irregular topography of the tested plates. They were susceptible to biofilm formation by all tested strains. The average CFUs were as follows: S. mutans (11.91 x 10⁷) > S.epidermidis (4.45 x 10⁷) > S. aureus (2.3 x 10⁷) > C.albicans (1.22 x 10⁷) > L. rhamnosus (0.78 x 10⁷).

Conclusions: The present preliminary study showed that rough surfaces of additively manufactured titanium plates are susceptible to microbial adhesion. The research should be continued in order to compare additively manufactured plates with other commercially available osteotomy plates. Therefore, we suggest caution when using this type of material.

摘要

背景：在口腔颌面外科中，固定板通常用于稳定骨碎片。增材制造使我们能够设计和制造个性化的固定装置，这些装置理想地适合任何给定的骨折。

目的：本初步研究的目的是评估3D打印的钛固定板对生物膜形成的敏感性。

方法：使用选择性激光熔化（SLM）从Ti-6Al-4 V制造板。测试了变形链球菌，表皮葡萄球菌，金黄色葡萄球菌，鼠李糖乳杆菌和白色念珠菌的参考菌株，以评估材料对生物膜形成的敏感性。 48小时。生物膜形成通过比色法和菌落形成单位（CFU）定量。扫描电子显微镜（SEM）可视化了生物膜的结构。

结果：表面分析表明，平均粗糙度为102.75 nm，测试板的形貌不规则。他们易受所有测试菌株形成生物膜的影响。平均CFU如下：变形链球菌（11.91 x 10 ⁷）>表皮葡萄球菌（4.45 x 10 ⁷）>金黄色葡萄球菌（2.3 x 10 ⁷）>白色念珠菌（1.22 x 10 ⁷）>鼠李糖（0.78 x 10 ⁷）。

结论：目前的初步研究表明，增材制造的钛板的粗糙表面易受微生物粘附。为了将增材制造的钢板与其他市售截骨术钢板进行比较，应该继续进行研究。因此，我们建议在使用这种类型的材料时要谨慎。