Polydopamine-Assisted Electrochemical Fabrication of Polypyrrole Nanofibers on Bone Implants to Improve Bioactivity

Dopamine is a molecule that facilitates biomineralization, and it is used to prepare electropolymerization-induced polydopamine (PDA). For the first time, dopamine is used for template-free electrochemical polymerization to form biocompatible polypyrrole (PPy) nanofiber coatings on bone implants. Dopamine monomers are electropolymerized to PDA chains affixed to biomedical titanium after the nanomicelles are tuned to self-assemble by triggering the potential, resulting in nanofiber formation. Dopamine serves as a dopant to induce the formation of conductive PPy nanofibers and as a promoter to accelerate biomineralization, cell proliferation, and adhesion.