Antimicrobial property, cytocompatibility and corrosion resistance of Zn-doped ZrO2/TiO2 coatings on Ti6Al4V implants

- The porous Zn-ZrO2/TiO2 coatings were successfully prepared by a novel duplex-treatment technique.
- Zn-ZrO2/TiO2 coatings possess superior corrosion resistance and excellent antibacterial ability against S. aureus.
- Zn-ZrO2/TiO2 coatings can enhance in vitro angiogenesis activity of osteoblastic cells.

Zn-doped ZrO2/TiO2 porous coatings (Zn-ZrO2/TiO2) were prepared on the surface of titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) by a hybrid approach of magnetron sputtering and micro-arc oxidation (MAO). The microstructures, phase constituents and elemental states of the coating were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results demonstrate that the Zn-ZrO2/TiO2 coatings are porous and its thickness is approximately 13 μm. The major phases in the oxidation coating are tetragonal ZrO2 (t-ZrO2), cubic ZrO2 (c-ZrO2) and rutile TiO2. XPS result reveals that Zn exists as ZnO in the Zn-ZrO2/TiO2 coatings. The biological experiments indicate that Zn-ZrO2/TiO2 coatings exhibit not only excellent antibacterial property against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), but also favorable cytocompatibility. In addition, the corrosion resistance of the coating is also appreciably improved in the simulated body fluids (SBF), which can ensure better biocompatibility in body fluids.