Antimicrobial and Antiviral Activities, and Biocompatibility of Titanium Coated with Electron Beam-Irradiated α-Silver Tungstate Microcrystals - Abstract

Sep 29, 2026

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Biomaterial surface modification is presented as a strategy to block microbial adhesion, biofilm formation, and viral contamination on implants. Alphasilver tungstate (α-Ag2WO4) shows antimicrobial activity that can be amplified through electron beam irradiation (EBI). Titanium discs coated with α-Ag2WO4, with or without EBI, were assessed for antimicrobial, antiviral, and cytotoxic effects. Coatings produced no meaningful structural or compositional differences, increased roughness and surface energy, reduced bacterial adhesion and SARS-CoV-2 titers, and maintained cytocompatibility in Vero E6 cells.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages16

Reading Time40 min

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Abstract

Introduction

This article is licensed under CC-BY 4.0 [http://pubs.acs.org/journal/acsodf](http://pubs.acs.org/journal/acsodf) Article Antimicrobial and Antiviral Activities, and Biocompatibility of Titanium Coated with Electron Beam-Irradiated α‑Silver Tungstate Microcrystals Sarah Raquel de Annunzio, Marcelo Assis, Paula Aboud Barbugli, Alice Santos Rosa, Thamara Kelcya Fonseca Oliveira, Tayane Alvites Nunes Quint̃ao, Vivian Neuza dos Santos Ferreira, Thayane da Encarnãao Sá-Guimar̃aes, Giovanna Barbosa da Conceĩao, Débora Ferreira Barreto-Vieira, Rodolfo Debone Piazza, Rodrigo Fernando Costa Marques, Milene Dias Miranda, Elson Longo, and Carlos Eduardo Vergani * Cite This: ACS Omega 2025, 10, 58975−58990 Read Online | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | ACCESS | Metrics & More | | Article Recommendations | | *sı Supporting Information | ABSTRACT: The development of biomaterials with modified surfaces is a promising strategy to prevent microbial adhesion, biofilm formation, and viral contamination on implants. Alphasilver tungstate (α-Ag2WO4) exhibits well-recognized antimicrobial activity, which can be further enhanced by electron beam irradiation (EBI). This study evaluated the antimicrobial, antiviral, and cytotoxic performance of titanium (Ti) discs coated with α -Ag2WO4, with or without EBI treatment, using the spin coating method. Material characterization revealed no significant differ ences in structure, composition, or morphology between the two coatings. Both coatings increased the surface roughness and surface free energy of the discs. Regarding antibiofilm effects, reductions of 3.46 and 3.31 log10 CFU/mL were observed for Streptococcus sanguinis on irradiated and nonirradiated coated surfaces, respectively, whereas Candida albicans, Actinomyces naeslundii, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Porphyromonas gingivalis showed no growth after the adhesion and biofilm formation phases. Furthermore, the α-Ag2WO4 coatings reduced SARS-CoV-2 titers by up to 2 log10 without causing cytotoxic effects in Vero E6 cells. These findings underscore the potential of α-Ag2WO4-based coatings as effective antimicrobial and antiviral surfaces, offering promising applications in dental implants and other biomedical devices. 1. INTRODUCTION Peri-implantitis is a polymicrobial infection that occurs within implant sites due to contamination by microorganisms and poor oral hygiene. Here, biofilms form, causing inflammatory lesions in tissues and alveolar bone losses. 1−3 In a previous work conducted by Elani et al. (2018),4 the authors projected that in the United States, the prevalence of dental implants could reach up to 23% by 2026. Another work conducted by Ronandini et al. (2021)5 found that 56.6% of patients experienced peri-implantitis after at least one year after dental implant placement. Biofilm formation on dental implant structures begins with the adhesion of a protein film to the dental implant surface, which is followed by initial adhesion and colonization of Grampositive streptococci, including Streptococcus sanguinis and anaerobic cocci, and Actinomyces species, including Actinomycesnaeslundii, as primary colonizers. The formation and maturation of polymicrobial biofilms on implant structures are enabled by Fusobacterium nucleatum, since it coaggregates with numerous oral bacterial species and serves as a bridge between the primary and secondary colonizers. Secondary colonizers are Gram-negative facultative anaerobic rods such as Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and strict anaerobes such as Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia, and Prevotella intermedia.6−8 Among secondary colonizers, P. gingivalis is the most prevalent microorganism found in peri-implantitis; its pathogenic role in disease progression depends mainly on its ability to adhere to host cells and coaggregate with other bacterial species in the subgingival biofilm.9, 10 In addition t

FAQs

Why are modified implant surfaces important?

Modified surfaces help prevent microbial adhesion and biofilm formation, and they reduce the risk of viral contamination on implants.

How does electron beam irradiation affect α-Ag2WO4 coatings?

Electron beam irradiation is used to enhance the antimicrobial performance of α-Ag2WO4, contributing to reductions in biofilm-related growth and viral titers.

Do the α-Ag2WO4 coatings show cytotoxicity?

The coatings reduced SARS-CoV-2 titers up to 2 log10 without causing cytotoxic effects in Vero E6 cells.

Sep 29, 2026

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