Antibacterial Properties and Biocompatibility of Hydroxyapatite Coating Doped with Various Cu Contents on Titanium

To explore the effect of copper content in a copper-doped hydroxyapatite coating (CuHAp) on its antibacterial activity and biocompatibility, a layer of CuHAp was deposited on the surface of pure Ti using an electrochemical deposition method. An orthogonal experiment was used to determine the Cu content in the coating by varying the concentration of Cu2+ in the electrolyte. The antibacterial properties and biocompatibility of the CuHAp coatings were also evaluated. The antibacterial effect increased with increasing Cu content in the sample. When the content of Cu in the coating was 1.57%, the deposited CuHAp coating exhibited excellent biocompatibility, and the number of living cells after culturing was significantly higher than that for the HAp coating. When the content of Cu increased to 6.85%, the coating exhibited cytotoxicity. Thus, the CuHAp sample with a Cu content of 1.57% exhibited good antibacterial and biocompatibility, and thus could be a suitable material for use in biomedical applications.