Preparation of an orthodontic bracket coated with an nitrogen-doped TiO2-xNy thin film and examination of its antimicrobial performance

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A bracket coated with a nitrogen-doped (N-doped) TiO2-xNy thin film was prepared using the RF magnetron sputtering method. The physicochemical properties of the thin film were measured using X-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, while the antimicrobial activity of the bracket against common oral pathogenic microbes was assessed on the basis of colony counts. The rate of antimicrobial activity of the bracket coated with nano-TiO2-xNy thin film against Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Actinomyces viscous, and Candida albicans was 95.19%, 91.00%, 69.44%, and 98.86%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy showed that fewer microbes adhered to the surface of this newly designed bracket than to the surface of the normal edgewise bracket. The brackets coated with the N-doped TiO2-xNy thin film showed high antimicrobial and bacterial adhesive properties against normal oral pathogenic bacterial through visible light, which is effective in prevention of enamel demineralization and gingivitis in orthodontic patients.