Abstract:
Titanium and its alloys are widely used to fabricate dental and orthopedic implants due to their high mechanical strength and toughness, excellent corrosion resistance in physiological environment, and good biocompatibility. However, the bioinertness of the metallic surfaces inhibits the growth of bone tissue. In order to overcome this shortage, hydroxyapatite (HA, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) has been applied as a coating on the metallic implants due to its similarity in chemical compositions, high biocompatibility, and osteoconductivity to bone tissue of human.
Nano-hydroxyapatite (HA) was grown on TiO2 nanofibers and on functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) impregnated with TiO2 nanofibers (NFs). It was hydrothermally grown on Ti metal sheets. The HA was electrochemically grown on the MWCNTs/TiO2 porous layer. It was found that the HA grows on the MWCNTs/TiO2 NFs in the form of dense coating with nanorice grain-shaped.
The incorporation of MWCNTs between HA and TiO2 nanofibers has led to higher adhesion strength as measured by micro-scratching test indicating the benefit of MWCNTs on the improving the bonding strength of HA layer. The obtained coatings exhibit excellent corrosion resistance in simulated body fluid.
