Tribological, cytotoxicity and antibacterial properties of graphene oxide/ carbon fibers/polyetheretherketone composite coatings on Ti-6Al-4V alloy as orthopedic/dental implants

In this work, graphene oxide/carbon fibers/polyetheretherketone (GO/CF/PEEK) composite coatings on Ti-6Al-4V (TC4) alloy were fabricated by electrostatic powder spraying method. The coatings with 0.02 wt% GO and 25 wt% CF were made to improve the wear resistance, cytocompatibility and antibacterial properties of the TC4 as orthopedic/dental implants. The physicochemical properties involving coating thickness, Vickers hardness, micromorphology, phase structures and contact angles were investigated. The results indicated that the GO/CF/PEEK coatings can significantly decrease the coefficient of friction (COF) (from 0.433 +/- 0.017 to 0.085 +/- 0.008) and enhance the wear resistance of TC4 alloy during the wet friction process in sliding contact with a Si3N4 ball. The results showed that few scratches appeared on the GO/CF/PEEK coating. As the in vitro cytotoxicity test by murine fibroblast L929 cells shown, the GO/CF/PEEK coating revealed good cytocompatibility. More importantly, GO/CF/PEEK coating exhibited excellent suppression toward Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) owing to the antibacterial nature of GO. Therefore, the GO/CF/PEEK composite coated TC4 could be considered as a prospective orthopedic/dental implant material for bone tissue engineering.

Automated summary

In this work, graphene oxide/carbon fibers/polyetheretherketone (GO/CF/PEEK) composite coatings were fabricated on Ti-6Al-4V alloy to improve wear resistance, cytocompatibility, and antibacterial properties for orthopedic/dental implants. The coatings significantly decreased the coefficient of friction, enhanced wear resistance, exhibited good cytocompatibility, and showed excellent suppression toward Staphylococcus aureus due to the antibacterial nature of graphene oxide. Therefore, the composite coated Ti-6Al-4V alloy could be a promising material for bone tissue engineering in orthopedic/dental applications.