Electrophoretic deposition of bioactive glass/zirconia core-shell nanoparticles on Ti6Al4V substrate

One approach to the improvement of implant-tissue interface is the creation of a bioactive surface. Here, bioactive glass-zirconia core-shell spherical nanoparticles were synthesized using a combination of sol-gel and sonochemical methods. The results revealed that the nanoparticles possess a similar to 16 +/- 4 nm rough tetragonal zirconia shell that surrounded the bioactive glass core. The optimized structure was coated on Ti6Al4V substrate through electrophoretic deposition technique. In order to obtain a stable suspension of nanoparticles in ethanol, dopamine was used as a surface treatment agent and cathodic electrophoretic deposition was successfully achieved on Ti6Al4V substrate. Also, the utilization of polyethyleneimine improved the adhesion between the coating and substrate. Due to the differences in surface charge of zirconia and bioactive glass nanoparticles, a high voltage and surfactant concentration are necessary for the simultaneous deposition of the particles. However, in the presence of core-shell nanoparticles, this issue was overcome. Microscopic examination of the coatings confirmed the elimination of cracks in core-shell constituted coatings. The adhesion between the coating and substrate increased significantly due to the rough surface of the core-shell nanoparticles. The Ca-P deposit formation on the surface of the bioactive glass and core-shell coatings were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

Automated summary

Bioactive glass-zirconia core-shell spherical nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using sol-gel and sonochemical methods and coated on Ti6Al4V substrate to enhance the implant-tissue interface. The application of dopamine as a surface treatment agent, cathodic electrophoretic deposition, and polyethyleneimine improved the adhesion between the coating and substrate. The presence of core-shell nanoparticles helped overcome the challenges in simultaneous deposition of zirconia and bioactive glass nanoparticles.