Electrophoretic deposition of biphasic calcium phosphate/graphene nanocomposite coatings on Ti6Al4V substrate for biomedical applications

In this research, surface modification of the Ti6Al4V titanium alloy, by calcium phosphate/graphene composite coatings, was considered to improve the bioactivity and biocompatibility of Ti6Al4V for biomedical applications. Synthetic biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP), derived from bovine bone, with 1%wt. Graphene (Gr) and without Gr, was coated by electrophoretic deposition on Ti6Al4V substrates to improve the bioactivity of surface and the corrosion resistance of electrophoretic coating. Different methods were conducted to characterize and compare the chemical and biological properties of BCP and BCP/Gr coatings. Results revealed that the presence of graphene in BCP/Gr composite coatings led to enhanced mechanical and corrosion resistance properties while composite coating remained bioactive and hydrophilic. Moreover, MTT assay and cell attachment results indicated that BCP/Gr coatings improved the MG-63 cell viability, which was approximately 87% for 7 days. The BCP/Gr coating is a novel and proper choice to modify Ti6Al4V surface properties for biomedical applications.