Preparation and characterization for antibacterial activities of 3D printing polyetheretherketone disks coated with various ratios of ampicillin and vancomycin salts

In this study, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) materials coated with various ratios of two kinds of antibiotic agents (ampicillin and/or vancomycin salts) were prepared. A modified 3D printer based on fused deposition modeling was employed to prepare PEEK disks. Coating ampicillin and/or vancomycin salts onto the PEEK disks was carried out using the biodegradable poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) polymer as a binder and a control unit for the drug release in the buffer solution. The effects of various rations of ampicillin and/or vancomycin salts in the PLGA polymer on the PEEK substrates, the release profiles of various drugs, and antibacterial activities of the samples were investigated. Temperature of the heated nozzle in a commerical 3D printer was set at 340 °C. After systemic investigations of the qualities of PEEK disks, a diameter of the heated nozzle of 0.6 mm in the 3D printer was employed for the preparation of PEEK disks. Results of drug release profiles from samples into buffer solution show that the antibacterial activities of samples can continue up to 28 days. In the inhibition zone test of samples, the release amounts of antibiotic agents from the PEEK samples can inhibit S. aureus with activity of over 40% in 30 days tests and most of them can have inhibition activities of higher than 60% during the test. These results showed that a simple and low-cost 3D printing method for the preparation of PEEK/antibiotic agents/PLGA samples can have further applications in biomedical-related technology.