Development of Vitroceramic Coatings and Analysis of Their Suitability for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

Within the field of tissue engineering, thin films have been studied to improve implant fixation of metallic or ceramic materials in bone, connective tissue, oral mucosa or skin. In this context, to enhance their suitability as implantable devices, titanium-based substrates received a superficial vitroceramic coating by means of laser ablation. Further, this study describes the details of fabrication and corresponding tests in order to demonstrate the bioactivity and biocompatibility of the newly engineered surfaces. Thus, the metallic supports were covered with a complex material composed of SiO 2 , P 2 O 5 , CaO, MgO, ZnO and CaF 2 , in the form of thin layers via a physical deposition techniques, namely pulsed laser deposition. The resulting products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, selected area electron diffraction, and electron energy loss spectroscopy. It was found that a higher substrate temperature and a lower working pressure lead to the highest quality film. Finally, the samples biocompatibility was assessed and they were found to be bioactive after simulated body fluid soaking and biocompatible through the MTT cell viability test.Coatings 2019, 9, 671 2 of 13 drawbacks, like fibrous tissue growth, slow osseointegration and reduced close contact with the host bone, were noticed upon wider use of titanium alloy implants [19]. Thus, the quest is to develop a composite material with all the mechanical properties of titanium alloys, encapsulated in a leak-proof ceramic, that can be biologically preactivated prior to implant [20,21].With the advent of laser-based additive manufacturing [22], such composite material is now a reality. In this case, a commercial or custom-made ceramic target is ablated by a pulsed laser, a plume of plasma is generated and directed towards the metallic substrate, upon which it settles, forming a thin layer that physically binds to the support [23,24]. Our research group has already reported the growth of nanostructured akermanite-based thin films by pulsed laser deposition, with good biocompatibility and bioactivity [25]. Since both the target characteristics and processing conditions strongly influence the properties of the final coatings [26], more studies are necessary in order to elucidate which are the driven factors and optimized set of parameters.Thus, the aim of this work is to produce a material that is durable and readily implantable. A type of vitroceramic coatings on titanium substrates were developed, characterized and then immersed in simulated biological fluid to be coated with a hydroxyapatite-like layer and demonstrate its bioactivity [27,28]. Further biological tests indicated that, indeed, this combination of materials resulted in an artifact that responds well to the in vitro cell proliferation. Author Contributions: Conceptualization, S.-I.J. and C.B.; methodology, C.B. and D.M.; validation, S.-I.J.; investigation...

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