Novel sol–gel derived calcium phosphate coatings on Mg4Y alloy

Calcium phosphates (CaPs) and silicon containing calcium phosphates (Si-CaPs) coatings on a biodegradable magnesium yttrium alloy (Mg4Y) were prepared by a sol–gel technique to improve the bioactivity of the alloy surface. The experimental results show that thick porous coatings comprised of nano-sized calcium phosphate particles can be prepared by heating the as dip coated substrates at 450 °C. The in vitro degradation results show that the coatings do not alter the degradation kinetics of the substrates significantly and the release of magnesium and yttrium ions at initial time points was very similar for both the coated and bare substrates. The cyto-compatibility studies using MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts show that the coated substrates were more bioactive than the uncoated substrates as the cells begin to grow and form a matrix on the coated substrates more easily than on the bare metal. These preliminary results collectively show the potential of use of sol–gel derived calcium phosphate coatings on magnesium based degradable scaffolds to improve their surface bioactivity.