The Effects of Electron Beam Irradiation on the Morphological and Physicochemical Properties of Magnesium-Doped Hydroxyapatite/Chitosan Composite Coatings

This work reports on the influence of 5 MeV electron beam radiations on the morphological features and chemical structure of magnesium-doped hydroxyapatite/chitosan composite coatings generated by the magnetron sputtering technique. The exposure to ionizing radiation in a linear electron accelerator dedicated to medical use has been performed in a controllable manner by delivering up to 50 Gy radiation dose in fractions of 2 Gy radiation dose per 40 s. After the irradiation with electron beams, the surface of layers became nano-size structured. The partial detachment of irradiated layers from the substrates has been revealed only after visualizing their cross sections by scanning electron microscopy. The energy dispersive X-ray spectral analysis of layer cross-sections indicated that the distribution of chemical elements in the samples depends on the radiation dose. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis have shown that the physicochemical processes induced by the ionizing radiation in the magnesium doped hydroxyapatite/chitosan composite coatings do not alter the apatite structure, and Mg remains bonded with the phosphate groups.

Automated summary

This study investigated the influence of electron beam radiation on magnesium-doped hydroxyapatite/chitosan composite coatings. The results showed that the radiation caused the surface of the coatings to become nanostructured and partial detachment of the irradiated layers from the substrates. The distribution of chemical elements in the samples was found to depend on the radiation dose, but the apatite structure and the bonding of magnesium with the phosphate groups remained unchanged.