Silver Containing Biomaterials

Despite considerable research and development efforts, the problem of infections related to biomedical devices and implants persists. Silver has attracted considerable interest for its ability to mitigate bacterial colonization of biomaterials surfaces in vitro and has been used in some commercial products such as wound bandages. Silver ion releasing biomaterials are thus considered to be promising candidates for rendering surfaces of biomedical devices and implants resistant to bacterial attachment. Here we review a number of strategies used for the design of antibacterial coatings containing silver. We also discuss the continuing controversy regarding the potential for silver ions to exert adverse effects on human cells and tissue. Finally we briefly compare the silver release approach with the alternative strategy of antibacterial coatings comprising organic antibiotics covalently coupled onto biomaterials surfaces.