Layer-by-layer assembly of gentamicin-based antibacterial multilayers on Ti alloy

To reduce the bacteria-associated infection for the Ti implant, an antibacterial coating composed of gentamicin (GS) and polyacrylic acid (PAA) was constructed using layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique. The surface morphology and chemical composition of the obtained multilayers were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The plate counting method was employed to evaluate the antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) of the coating. The results revealed that the drug loaded multilayers could inhibit the growth of bacteria on the Ti substrate.