Bioactive Electrodes for Biomedical Applications : Bicompatibility, antibacterial and electrical conductivity of Titanium based thin films doped with Silver and Gold

This book illustrate the study and development of bioactive electrodes to apply in piezoelectric sensors for biomedical applications, respectively in internal orthopedic prosthesis. These electrodes are composed by Titanium doped with Silver and Gold. Titanium, being widely known for its biocompatibility, serves as electrical conductor, Silver acts as antibacterial agent and Gold is used to induce Silver ionization due to the formation of a galvanic pair, once the antibacterial effect is achieved by Silver ions. These electrodes were deposited on piezoelectric polymer, assembling a sensor capable of detecting anomalies, in real time, related to the implementation of prosthetic devices inside the human body. The objective is to produce biocompatible and antibacterial electrodes without compromising the electrical conductivity. Along the literature the reader can find a state of the art related to this matter as well as the main results of the physical, chemical, electrical and structural characterization performed in this study.