Structural and morphological characterization of Ti6Al4V alloy surface functionalization based on Nb2O5 thin film for biomedical applications

This paper proposes an applied and innovative research for the development of Nb2O5 thin film on the Ti6Al4V alloy surface with great prospects of being used in the biomedical area. Thin films of Nb2O5 have been deposited on the Ti6Al4V alloy surface by using the reactive sputtering technique. The system was characterized morphologically and structurally via SEM/EDX, AFM, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy and XPS. Interfacial tension theory was used for the determination of the surface free energy and showed that the treated surface became more hydrophilic when compared to the bare material. The high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectra from Nb 3d and O 1s core-levels demonstrate unequivocally the presence of a single-phase Nb2O5. Cytotoxicity and biocompatibility (VERO-CCL-81 cell line) tests as well as analyzes of inflammatory responses with Human blood leukocyte cells were also performed by showing that Nb2O5 coating reduced both Ti6Al4V alloy toxicity and its inflammation induction besides increasing the anti-inflammatory cytokine levels. Since the surface functionalization resulted in both higher biocompatibility and tolerance by immune cells besides low inflammatory levels concerning the base material, we present a superior material with wide spectra of usage in the biomedical area.

Automated summary

This research utilized reactive sputtering to deposit Nb2O5 thin films on the surface of Ti6Al4V alloy, characterized the morphology and structure of the films, and demonstrated through cytotoxicity and biocompatibility tests as well as inflammatory response analysis that Nb2O5 coating improved the material's biocompatibility, reduced toxicity and inflammation induction compared to the base material.