The
Ti-6Al-4V alloy is one of the most commonly used in
orthopedic surgery. Despite its advantages, there is an increasing need to use new
titanium alloys with no toxic elements and improved biomechanical properties, such as Ti-13Nb-13Zr. Prosthetic joint
infections (PJI) are mainly caused by Gram-positive bacteria; however, Gram-negative bacteria are a growing problem due to associated multidrug resistance. In this study, the bacterial adherence and viability on the
Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy have been compared to that of the
Ti-6Al-4V alloy using 16 collection and clinical strains of bacterial species related to PJI: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. When compared with the
Ti-6Al-4V alloy, bacterial adherence on the
Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy was significantly higher in most staphylococcal and P. aeruginosa strains and lower for E. coli strains. The proportion of live bacteria was significantly lower for both Gram-negative species on the
Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy than on the
Ti-6Al-4V alloy pointing to some bactericidal effect of the
Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy. This bactericidal effect appears to be a consequence of the formation of
hydroxyl radicals, since this effect is neutralized when
dimethylsulfoxide was added to both the
saline solution and water used to wash the
stain. The antibacterial effect of the
Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy against Gram-negative bacteria is an interesting property useful for the prevention of PJI caused by these bacteria on this potential alternative to the
Ti-6Al-4V alloy for
orthopedic surgery.