Surface Modification of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy by Gelatin/Silicon and Magnesium Co-Doped Fluorapatite Nanocomposite Coating

The purpose of this study was to synthesis gelatin/silicon and magnesium co-doped fluorapatite nanocomposite coating and also gelatin coating on Ti-6Al-4V alloy in order to improve and modify the biological properties of this alloy. For this aim, nanocomposite coating and gelatin coating were first fabricated by dip-coating method. Then, the physical, corrosion and biological properties of the created coatings were investigated by different methods. The results indicated that a uniform nanocomposite coating with a thickness of about 6.26 microns was formed with appropriate structure and phases and increased roughness by adding nanoparticles to gelatin coating. Electrochemical measurements showed that nanocomposite-coated Ti-6Al-4V specimen with a polarization resistance of RP = 5.349×105Ωcm2 has higher polarization resistance in comparison with the gelatine coating with a polarization resistance of RP = 1.191×105 Ωcm2 and the non-coated specimen with a polarization resistance of RP = 5.2453×104 Ωcm2. The cytotoxicity test showed no cell cytotoxicity of the coatings. Also, cell growth and proliferation of the nanocomposite-coated specimen showed statistically significant difference compared to the non-coated sample. Cell adhesion to the nanocomposite-coated specimen was also much better than the non-coated sample and gelatin-coated sample.