Osteogenic cell proliferation and antibacterial properties of CaCu–NaTaO3 on biomedical tantalum

Tantalum (Ta) has been utilized used in hard tissue grafts because of its high mechanical strength, excellent corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility. However, due to its low bioactivity, inability to stimulate new bone formation, and lack of antimicrobial activity, its clinical application is limited. Ca2+ can efficiently enhance cell activity and stimulate cell differentiation to form new bone; Cu2+ is an antibacterial ion that is both biologically active and non-resistant at appropriate concentrations. A hydrothermal-molten salt-hydrothermal method was used in this study to create Ca2+ and Cu2+ co-doped NaTaO3. The findings demonstrate that the amount of Ca2+ and Cu2+ doped in the co-doped sample is significantly influenced by the doping sequence and the concentration of Cu2+ solution. The doping sequence of first doping Ca2+ and then doping Cu2+ can further increase the doping amount of the two ions. The change of doping sequence affects the surface morphology, interplanar spacing, and doping concentration. The optimum doping concentration of Ca2+ and Cu2+ in CaCu–NaTaO3 is 3.09 at.% and 2.31 at.%, and the film thickness is about 1.5 μm. ICP, cell, and antibacterial experiments proved that the CaCu–NaTaO3 film has biological and antibacterial activity.