Implant or medical tool made of a metal

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11793733-B2
Application number	US-201816760851-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 31, 2018
Priority date	Nov 2, 2017
Publication date	Oct 24, 2023
Grant date	Oct 24, 2023

Abstract

The invention relates to an implant or medical tool made of a metal or having a surface made of a metal for use in a therapeutic treatment, wherein the implant or the tool has, on its/the surface, a coating with polycrystalline doped electrically conductive diamond, wherein the therapeutic therapy is a treatment of a microbial infection of a human or animal body,wherein the implant or the tool is connected as anode (12) in an electrochemical system in the body, wherein the electrochemical system comprises, in addition to the anode (12), a cathode (16), a power source connected in an electrically conductive manner to the anode and to the cathode, and an electrolyte comprising or consisting of a body fluid, or consists of the anode (12), a cathode (16), a power source connected in an electrically conductive manner to the anode and to the cathode, and an electrolyte comprising or consisting of a body fluid, orwherein the implant or the tool is disposed within an electrical field, by means of which a negative charge is induced at a first site and a positive charge at a second site by induction on the implant or tool, by means of which the first site becomes the anode (12) in an electrochemical system and the second site becomes the cathode (16) in the electrochemical system, wherein the electrochemical system comprises, in addition to the implant or the tool, an electrolyte comprising or consisting of a body fluid or consists of the implant or the tool and an electrolyte comprising or consisting of a body fluid.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A therapeutic method, comprising treating microbial infection caused by bacteria on an implant in a human or animal body with oxidizing products having antimicrobial action that have been produced on an implant made of a metal or having a surface made of a metal, wherein the implant has, on its/the surface, a coating with polycrystalline doped electrically conductive diamond, wherein the therapeutic treatment comprises the generation of the products having antimicrobial action directly on the implant, wherein the products having antimicrobial action are C 2 O 6 2− , S 2 O 8 2− and/or P 2 O 8 4− ions,
wherein the implant is connected as anode in an electrochemical system in the body, wherein the electrochemical system comprises, in addition to the anode, a cathode, a power source connected in an electrically conductive manner to the anode and to the cathode, and an electrolyte comprising or consisting of a body fluid, or consists of the anode, a cathode, a power source connected in an electrically conductive manner to the anode and to the cathode, and an electrolyte comprising or consisting of a body fluid, or
wherein the implant is disposed within an electrical field, by means of which a negative charge is induced at a first site and a positive charge at a second site by induction on the implant, by means of which the first site becomes the anode in an electrochemical system and the second site becomes the cathode in the electrochemical system, wherein the electrochemical system comprises, in addition to the implant, an electrolyte comprising or consisting of a body fluid or consists of the implant and an electrolyte comprising or consisting of a body fluid, wherein an anodic electrode potential in the range of 1.80 V to 2.07 V is applied to the electrochemical system in order to generate the C 2 O 8 2− , S 2 O 8 2− and/or P 2 O 8 4− ions directly on the implant.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the diamond has been doped with boron or phosphorus.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microbial infection is a bacterial infection or a fungal infection.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal is titanium or a titanium-containing alloy.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the alloy is Ti-6Al-4V, Ti-6Al-7Nb or another alloy containing, in addition to titanium, aluminum and/or niobium and/or iron and/or molybdenum.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating is a coating produced on the surface of the implant in a gas phase containing a boron containing compound by hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) or by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) or by another kind of chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal is titanium or the titanium-containing alloy and there is an interlayer of titanium carbide between the titanium or the alloy and the coating.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the interlayer has a layer thickness of not more than 3 μm.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the interlayer has a layer thickness of at least 100 nm.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the interlayer has a layer thickness of at least 100 nm.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the implant is a dental implant or jaw implant which is accessible from outside the body without surgical intervention and is electrically contacted for the therapy from outside the body, or wherein the implant has been implanted within the body and an electrical conductor, especially an electrically conductive wire, is routed from the implant to an outside of the body and is electrically contacted on the outside for the therapy or is routed from the implant to a contact site beneath the skin that is electrically contacted for the therapy from the outside through a puncture or is routed from the implant via an electrical rectifier to a coil, especially disposed not more than 3 cm beneath the skin, and is connected thereto in an electrically conductive manner, wherein the coil additionally has electrically conductive connection via the electrical rectifier to the cathode, wherein the cathode is likewise disposed within the body, wherein, for the therapy, a flow of current is induced in the coil by induction from outside the body, by means of which the cathode and the anode are energized.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrical field is built up between at least two plates of a capacitor or by means of at least one electrical coil or is built up between a further anode and a further cathode within the electrochemical system, wherein the electrochemical system additionally comprises, in addition to the further anode and the further cathode, a power source connected in an electrically conductive manner to the further anode and the further cathode or additionally consists of the further anode and the further cathode and a power source connected in an electrically conductive manner to the further anode and the further cathode.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the electrolyte in the electrochemical system comprises an electrically conductive auxiliary fluid or consists of the body fluid and the electrically conductive auxiliary fluid, wherein the electrically conductive auxiliary fluid in each case is a liquid that establishes electrical contact of the further anode and the further cathode with the body fluid.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the implant is disposed within a closed region of the body, wherein a voltage applied to the electrochemical system is chosen such that the amount of gaseous further products formed at the anode is sufficiently low that these dissolve directly in the body fluid after they have formed.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the microbial infection is a microbial infection associated with an inflammation reaction.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the implant is an endoprosthesis made of a metal.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the diamond is microdiamond.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the microdiamond has a grain size ranging from 2 to 3 μm.

Assignees

• Univ Friedrich Alexander Er
• Friedrich Alexander Univ Erlangen Nurnberg

Inventors

• Rosiwal Stefan
• Schumann Marie

Classifications

• A61K6/831 Primary

  comprising non-metallic elements or compounds thereof, e.g. carbon · CPC title

• A61K6/838

  Phosphorus compounds, e.g. apatite · CPC title

• A61K6/84

  comprising metals or alloys · CPC title

• A61N1/05

  for implantation or insertion into the body, e.g. heart electrode (A61N1/06 takes precedence) · CPC title

• A61N1/20

  continuous direct currents · CPC title