Bioinspired Surface Functionalization of Titanium Alloy for Enhanced Lubrication and Bacterial Resistance

Abstract

In clinics it is extremely important for implanted devices to achieve the property of enhanced lubrication and bacterial resistance; however, such a strategy has rarely been reported in previous literature. In the present study, a surface functionalization method, motivated by articular cartilage-inspired superlubrication and mussel-inspired adhesion, was proposed to modify titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) using the copolymer (DMA–MPC) synthesized via free radical copolymerization. The copolymer-coated Ti6Al4V (Ti6Al4V@DMA–MPC) was evaluated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, water contact angle, and Raman spectra to confirm that the DMA–MPC copolymer was successfully coated onto the Ti6Al4V substrate. In addition, the tribological test, with the polystyrene microsphere and Ti6Al4V or Ti6Al4V@DMA–MPC as the tribopair, indicated that the friction coefficient was greatly reduced for Ti6Al4V@DMA–MPC. Furthermore, the bacterial resistance test showed that bacterial attachment was significantly inhibited for Ti6Al4V@DMA–MPC for the three types of bacteria tested. The enhanced lubrication and bacterial resistance of Ti6Al4V@DMA–MPC was due to the tenacious hydration shell formed surrounding the zwitterionic charges in the phosphorylcholine group of the DMA–MPC copolymer. In summary, a bioinspired surface functionalization strategy is developed in this study, which can act as a universal and promising method to achieve enhanced lubrication and bacterial resistance for biomedical implants.

Regulation mechanism of biomolecule interaction behaviors on the superlubricity of hydrophilic polymer coatings

“…The hydration layer formed on the polymer surface is vital for protein adsorption. Hydrophilic polymers, such as PEG, polyacrylamide, and polyzwitterions, have been found to effectively resist the attachment of protein and bacteria [18,30]. Furthermore, the cationic and anionic polymer layers exhibit significantly different characteristics compared with neutral hydrophilic polymer or zwitterionic polyelectrolyte surfaces, even though they all show high hydrophilicity [31].…”

Bioinspired oil‐soluble polymers based on catecholamine chemistry for reduced friction

“…29,30 It has been reported that dopamine can be easily deposited onto almost all types of organic and inorganic substrates, as the catechol group is susceptible to oxidation to quinone under neutral or alkaline conditions, forming stable covalent and noncovalent interactions with the substrates. [31][32][33][34][35][36][37] Consequently, it is feasible to achieve "grafting to" performance based on the mussel-inspired self-adhesion property.…”

Catalytic Generation of Nitric Oxide from Poly(ε-caprolactone)/Phosphobetainized Keratin Mats for a Vascular Tissue Engineering Scaffold

“…17 to now, MPC component coatings, hydrogels, micelles, vesicles, nanoparticles, and vascular stents have been developed. 20,21 Keratin is abundant in skin and skin appendages with rich cysteine residues (7−20 % of the total amino acid residues). Besides, cell adhesion sequences such as LDV and EDS within keratin guarantee it an ideal candidate for tissue engineering applications.…”

“…MPC contains zwitterionic positive and negative groups with a strong hydrophilic property. Modification with MPC endows the materials with blood compatibility, as a result of the effective inhibition of protein adsorption and platelet adhesion. − Up to now, MPC component coatings, hydrogels, micelles, vesicles, nanoparticles, and vascular stents have been developed. , …”