Cellulose acetate/hydroxyapatite/chitosan coatings for improved corrosion resistance and bioactivity

• The composite coatings were prepared by electrospinning and dip-coating.
• Good in vitro bioactivity of the CA/HAP/CHI coating was confirmed.
• Electrochemical behaviors in SBF of the coatings have been studied.
• The CA/HAP/CHI coating shows better resistance property than HAP/CHI.

Cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers were deposited on stainless steel plates by electrospinning technique. The composite of hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanoparticles and chitosan (CHI) was coated subsequently by dip-coating. The structure and morphology of the obtained coatings were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The stability of the coatings in physiological environment was studied using electrochemical polarization and impedance spectroscopy. The CA nanofibers were embedded in the HAP/CHI coating and the resulted composite film was densely packed and uniform on the substrate. The in vitro biomineralization study of the coated samples immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF) confirmed the formation ability of bone-like apatite layer on the surface of HAP-containing coatings. Furthermore, the coatings could provide corrosion resistance to the stainless steel substrate in SBF. The electrochemical results suggested that the incorporation of CA nanofibers could improve the corrosion resistance of the HAP/CHI coating. Thus, biocompatible CA/HAP/CHI coated metallic implants could be very useful in the long-term stability of the biomedical applications.