Fig. 3.

The ion release profile and in vitro antibacterial activity against MRSA USA300. The cumulative ion release of (A) Sr²⁺ and (B) Ag⁺ ions released from biofunctionalized implants in PBS as determined by ICP-OES. (C) The results of the minimum inhibitory and (D) bactericidal concentration tests demonstrating the level of bacterial growth for different concentrations of Ag⁺ and/or Sr²⁺ ions. (E) The photographs (left) and size (right) of the inhibition zones formed around the specimens after 24 h of incubation on an agar plate with an inoculum of 10⁷ CFU/ml. (F) The number of adherent and (G) non-adherent bacteria following the incubation of the implants with an inoculum of 2 × 10³ CFU/ml for 24 h ∗, p < 0.05, ∗∗, p < 0.01, ∗∗∗, p < 0.001. n = 3 per group for all experiments. MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; PBS, phosphate buffered saline; CFU, colony forming unit.