Search

Recently, polyether ether ketone has raised increasing interest in research and industry as an alternative material for bone implants. This polymer also has some shortcomings, as it is bioinert and its surface is relatively hydrophobic, causing poor cell adhesion and therefore slow integration with bone tissue. In order to improve biocompatibility, the surface of polyether ether ketone-based implants should be modified. Therefore, polished disc-shaped polyether ether ketone samples were surface-modified by direct current magnetron sputtering with ultrathin titanium and zirconium coatings (thickness < 100 nm). The investigation results show a uniform distribution of both types of coatings on the sample surfaces, where the coatings mostly consist of titanium dioxide and zirconium dioxide. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed that the crystalline structure of the polyether ether ketone substrates was not changed by the coating deposition. Both coatings are amorphous, as shown by X-ray diffraction investigations. The roughness of both coating types increases with increasing coating thickness, which is beneficial for cell colonization. The coatings presented and investigated in this study improve wettability, increasing surface energies, in particular the polar component of the surface energies, which, in turn, are important for cell adhesion.

By means of scanning electron microscopy, atomic-force microscopy, X-ray fluorescence analysis, and X-ray spectral microanalysis it was shown that, under plasma-electrolytic oxidation (PEO) of titanium alloys in pyrophosphate electrolytes, well-adhered oxide coatings with microglobular morphology result. It was demonstrated that the chemical and phase composition of the coatings, as well as the surface topography and grain size, can be controlled by changing the concentration of a pyrophosphate electrolyte and a PEO current density. It was established that the resulting oxide layer is highly resistant to abrasive wear and enhances the titanium corrosion resistance in model media (Ringer’s solution) substantially, which suggests that the coatings are promising for use in biological applications.

Bioactive coatings on VT1-0 commercially pure titanium were formed by the plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO). A study of the morphological features of coatings was carried out using scanning electron microscopy. A composition of formed coatings was investigated using energy-dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry analysis. It was shown that PEO-coatings have calcium phosphate in their composition, which increases the bioactivity of the surface layer. Electrochemical properties of the samples were studied by potentiondynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in different physiological media: simulated body fluid and minimum essential medium. The data of electrochemical studies indicate more than 15 times decrease in the corrosion current density for the sample with coating (5.0 &times, 10&minus, 9 A/cm2) as compared to the bare titanium (7.7 &times, 8 A/cm2). The formed PEO-layers have elastoplastic properties close to human bone (12&ndash, 30 GPa) and a lower friction coefficient in comparison with bare metal. The wettability of PEO-layers increased. The contact angle for formed coatings reduced by more than 60&deg, in comparison with bare metal (from 73&deg, for titanium to 8&deg, for PEO-coating). Such an increase in surface hydrophilicity contributes to the greater biocompatibility of the formed coating in comparison with commercially pure titanium. PEO can be prospective as a method for improving titanium surface bioactivity.

The utilization of Mg alloys for biomedical applications is so far underexplored due to the accelerated corrosion hampering patient recovery post implantation. Here, we explore the effectiveness of corrosion reduction of an AZ31 alloy in Simulated Body Fluid when coated with a 40 nm sputtered TiO2 layer and compare it to a similar coating made by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). Potentiodynamic polarization and hydrogen evolution experiments were performed on coated samples having different surface roughness and 3D topologies. Interestingly, ALD layers reduce corrosion current density by 94% on Ra = 118.6 ± 5.1 nm and 93% on Ra = 4794.3 ± 49.4 nm, whereas sputtered only by 84% on Ra = 118.6 ± 5.1 nm and 60% on Ra = 4794.3 ± 49.4 nm. Particularly on 3D aspects, the ALD coatings are superior, where a scaffold of 85% porosity with 1 mm pore sizes released 68% lower hydrogen compared to the sputtered counterparts. We relate these observations to the higher surface integrity, adhesion strength and lower line-of-sight restrictions of ALD compared to sputter deposition. The results can be interesting for researchers and practitioners aiming to make Mg alloys more commonplace as temporary metallic implant materials. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons CC-BY license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

In this work, a TaN(Ag) composite coating with different silver contents between 2.26 and 28.51 %at, were developed by the unbalanced magnetron sputtering technique. The coating with the best balance presented between tribological and mechanical properties was chosen, and it was subjected to thermal treatments cycles with temperatures among 175 °C and 275 °C to allow the nucleation, growth and controlled diffusion of Ag nanoparticles up to the coating surface; the size, distribution and density of nanoparticles on the coating surface and their influence on the mechanical and tribological properties, were verified. The bactericidal effect against P. aeruginosa by growth inhibition and adhesion test was studied, as well as the cytotoxic behavior on osteoblasts by MTT test. The TaN(Ag)-3 coating after thermal treatment at 200 °C during 4 min, increased the micro hardness of AISI 316L stainless steel from 2.6 GPa to 10.7GPa, and decreased the wear rate from 1.11x10-3 mm3/N.m to 0.17x10-12 mm3/N.m. This coating exhibited 100% of osteoblast cell viability, and an excellent performance to the inhibition of growth and adherence of P. aeruginosa. En este trabajo se desarrolló el recubrimiento compuesto de TaN(Ag) con una variación del contenido de plata entre 2,26 y 28,51 %at, mediante la técnica de pulverización catódica asistida por campo magnético desbalanceado. Se eligió el recubrimiento que presentó el mejor balance entre propiedades mecánicas y tribológicas, y se sometió a un ciclo de tratamientos térmicos con temperaturas entre 175 °C y 275 °C para producir la nucleación, el crecimiento y difusión controlada de las nanopartículas de Ag hasta la superficie del recubrimiento. Se verificó el tamaño y densidad de distribución de las nanopartículas en la superficie del recubrimiento, y su influencia en las propiedades mecánicas y tribológicas. Posteriormente se estudió el efecto bactericida frente a la bacteria P. aeruginosa mediante las pruebas de inhibición al crecimiento y de adherencia, así como el comportamiento citotóxico del material frente a osteoblastos humanos utilizando el método MTT. El recubrimiento TaN(Ag)-3 tratado térmicamente a 200 °C durante 4 min, incrementó la microdureza del acero inoxidable AISI 316L de 2,6 GPa a 10,7 GPa, y disminuyó la tasa de desgaste de 1.11x10-3 mm3/N.m a 0.17x10-12 mm3/N.m.. Este recubrimiento presentó 100% de viabilidad celular de osteoblastos, y un excelente comportamiento a la inhibición del crecimiento y adherencia de la bacteria P. aeruginosa.

Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) of Ti-15Mo alloys conducted in electrolytes containing Ca and P compounds can be an efficient process with which to obtain bioactive coatings. This paper reports on the influence of the nature of the electrolyte, its concentration, and PEO process parameters on the properties of anodized layers on Ti-15Mo. A wide range of Ca- and P-containing alkaline and acidic solutions was employed to incorporate Ca and P ions into the anodized layer. The efficiency of the incorporation was evaluated by the Ca/P ratio in the coating as compared to that in the electrolyte. It was found that alkaline solutions are not suitable electrolytes for the formation of good quality, uniform PEO coatings. Only acidic electrolytes are appropriate for obtaining well-adherent homogeneous layers on Ti-15Mo. However, the maximum Ca/P ratios reached in the coatings were rather low (close to 1). The variation of electrical signal (negative-to-positive current ratio, frequency) and time of electrolysis do not result in a substantial change of this value. The processing time, however, did influence the coating thickness. Despite their low Ca/P ratio, the anodized layers demonstrate good biological activity, comparable to pure microrough titanium.

cited By 2; International audience; The most important physico-chemical properties of materials with biomedical applications are: the morphology, the surface structure and the corrosion resistance. In this paper we follow the evolution of these properties, according to the conditions for obtaining TiO 2 coatings. These coatings were formed on titanium substrate by microarc oxidation (MAO). The electrolyte is a mixture consisting of β- glycerophosphate disodium salt pentahydrate and calcium acetate monohydrate. The obtained surfaces were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-rays analysis and corrosion tests. The anticorrosion properties of the layers were tested in biological environment (buffer solution) by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltametry, Tafel tests. The results show a good electrochemical stability, combined with positive results regarding their biocompatibility.