Development of an intraosseous transcutaneous orthopaedic implant (ITAP) resistant to bacteria infections through the combination of passive and active strategies

如果一条腿、一只胳膊、一根手指或一个拇指必须被截去，或者在出生时就缺失了，可以安装一个人工替代品（称为假肢或假肢）。假肢通常有一个承窝，通过吸引或捆绑在缺失肢体的残肢上来固定。然而，这导致了主要的缺点，如刺激残肢或幻肢综合征。在这种情况下，植入骨内经皮假体（ITAP）被描述为最生理，因此可能是成功的，方法来防止以前诱发的问题。在这个过程中，一个金属植入物通过皮肤插入残肢的骨头中心。然后将假肢连接到金属植入物上。其目的是生产一种更舒适、更牢固的假肢。不幸的是，ITAP从人体排出的部位通常是感染的部位，通过适当整合植入物周围的真皮和表皮组织，在其周围形成软组织密封，可以潜在地消除感染。此外，完全预防感染还需要赋予假肢装置杀菌特性。因此，我们的目标是提供具有两种功能特性的钛（这是我们的工业合作伙伴用于构建骨科植入物的材料），这两种功能特性都可能防止细菌定植。这些特性是：1）促进皮肤细胞粘附和在表面上扩散的能力;这是一种被动功能; 2）为表面提供抗菌特性;这是一种主动功能。

If a leg, arm, finger or thumb has had to be amputated, or is missing at birth, an artificial substitute (known as aprosthetic limb or prosthesis) may be fitted. Prosthetic limbs usually have a socket and are held in place eitherby suction or by being strapped to the stump of the missing limb. However, this leads to major drawbacks suchas irritation of the stump or phantom limb syndrome. In this context, the implantation of intraosseoustranscutaneous prostheses (ITAP) was described as the most physiological, and thus probably successful,approach to prevent the previously evoked problems. In this procedure, a metal implant is inserted through theskin and into the centre of the bone of the stump. A prosthetic limb is then attached to the metal implant. Theaim is to produce a more comfortable and securely attached prosthetic limb.Unfortunately, the point where ITAP exits from the human body is often the site for infections which could bepotentially eliminated by proper integration of dermal and epidermal tissues around the implant, creating a softtissue seal around it. In addition, a complete prevention of the infection also requires endowing the prostheticdevice with bacteria-killing properties.Accordingly, our objective is to provide titanium (which is the material used by our industrial partner tobuild-up orthopaedic implants) with two functional properties that are both likely to prevent bacterialcolonization. These properties are 1) the capability of promoting skin cell adhesion and spreading on thesurface; this is a passive functionality and 2) providing the surface with antibacterial properties; this is anactive functionality.