Determination of physical properties for β-TCP + chitosan biomaterial obtained on metallic 316L substrates

Material surface modification, particularly the deposition of special coatings on the surface of surgical implants, is extensively used in bone tissue engineering applications. β-Tricalcium phosphate/Chitosan (β-TCP/Ch) coatings were deposited on 316L stainless steel (316L SS) substrates by a cathodic electro-deposition technique at different coating compositions. The crystal lattice arrangements were analyzed by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), and the results indicated that the crystallographic structure of β-TCP was affected by the inclusion of the chitosan content. The changes in the surface morphology as a function of increasing chitosan in the coatings via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that root-mean square values of the β-TCP/Ch coatings decreased by further increasing chitosan percentage. The elastic-plastic characteristics of the coatings were determined by conducting nanoindentation test, indicating that increase of chitosan percentage is directly related to increase of hardness and elastic modulus of the β-TCP/Ch coatings. Tribological characterization was performed by scratch test and pin-on-disk test to analyze the changes in the surface wear of β-TCP/Ch coatings. Finally, the results indicated an improvement in the mechanical and tribological properties of the β-TCP/Ch coatings as a function of increasing of the chitosan percentage. This new class of coatings, comprising the bioactive components, is expected not only to enhance the bioactivity and biocompatibility, but also to protect the surface of metallic implants against wear and corrosion.