Abstract

Load-bearing implants are developed with a particular emphasis placed on an application of ceramic hydroxyapatite coatings in order, to enhance the bioactivity of titanium implants and to shorten the healing time. Therefore, thin, fully crystalline coatings that are, highly adhesive, hydrophilic and demonstrating antibacterial properties are ly looked for. The aim of this research was to develop and characterize the properties of (nano)hydroxyapatite coatings implemented with nanocopper particles and obtained by the electrophoretic method. The deposition was carried out on the Ti13Zr13Nb alloy, either on a bare surface or a nanotubular oxide layer. The deposition was made for 1 or 2 min. The chemical composition, phase composition, coating structure, homogeneity, thickness, nanoindentation and nanomechanical properties, adhesion determined by a nanoscratch test, and wettability measured by a contact angle were investigated. The presence of nanotubular oxide layers caused no significant change in nanoindentation and nanomechanical propertie and an increase in adhesion strength and a decrease in the contact angle. The increase in deposition time resulted in an increased thickness, a decreased hardness, an increased adhesion strength and wettabilty. The observed effects in the composite (nano)HAp/Cu – (nano)TiO2 coatings are attributed to the change in the structure of coatings following the increasing deposition time and coating thickness.

Citations

Authors (5)