With pressure from hospitals mounting, manufacturers of implantable devices are exploring their options for incorporating infection-prevention elements into their products. Responding to this demand, Zimmer (Warsaw, IN) has enlisted the aid of coating specialist Accentus Medical (Didcot, UK) to provide its Agluna antiinfective surface-modification technology for treating the company's joint-reconstruction and trauma products.

Through a global licensing agreement, Accentus and Zimmer will collaborate on further developing the technology and securing regulatory approval for treated implants. “This agreement represents a significant step forward for Accentus Medical, and we are very pleased to be working with a company as prestigious as Zimmer," says Philip Agg, chief executive of Accentus Medical. "Having invested significant resources in developing the technology and in generating a large amount of evidence supporting its safety and efficacy, Accentus Medical is now in a position to fully commercialize and exploit the Agluna technology.”

The Agluna technology is a patented surface-modification method for preventing biofilm formation on titanium- and titanium-alloy-based implantable devices. The process entails 'stitching' silver into the titanium implant's surface. "The Agluna treatment of implants is achieved by an electrochemical process that involves high-voltage anodization (formation of an oxide layer integral with the metal surface) of the titanium implant in dilute phosphoric acid, followed by ion exchange with silver from an aqueous solution. This treatment results in the formation of circular features of approximately 5 µm diameter in the surface of the implant, containing an amorphous titania species within which the bulk of the ionic silver has been stored," according to Accentus's Web site.

Silver ions are released over a period of several months, and dissolve into the body's fluids. This method is biocompatible and durable, according to Accentus.

More information about the silver-based surface-treatment process can be found at the company's Web site.