Fabrication of biodegradable MgXCu(X=0, 0.1, 0.4, 0.7) coating on Ti6Al4V alloy with enhanced antibacterial property

Currently, orthopaedic implant materials such as titanium alloy are biologically inert materials which are not easily integrated with bone tissues, thus resulting in implantation failures due to the loosening and infection. In this study, bioactive MgXCu(X = 0, 0.1, 0.4, 0.7) coatings were successfully fabricated on Ti6Al4 V substrate by arc ion plating (AIP) technique to improve the antibacterial property. The surface composition and morphology of the coating was characterised by X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The electrochemical experiment and immersion test showed the corrosion rate of MgXCu coating increased with the addition of Cu element. Antibacterial assays proved that the MgXCu coating could successfully reduce the viability of Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) and the thickness of the bacterial film. Consequently, it is concluded that MgXCu coated Ti6Al4 V with antibacterial property is much potential to be used in orthopaedic applications.

Automated summary

The study successfully fabricated bioactive MgXCu coatings with antibacterial properties on Ti6Al4 V substrate, showing potential for orthopaedic applications.Experimental results confirmed the antibacterial efficacy of the coatings in reducing the viability of Staphylococcus aureus and the thickness of bacterial film.