Titanium dioxide nanotubes/hydroxyapatite nanocomposites were produced on a titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V/TNT/HA) and studied as a biocompatible coating for an implant surface modification. As a novel approach for this type of nanocomposite fabrication, the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method with an extremely low number of cycles was used to enrich titania nanotubes (TNT) with a very thin hydroxyapatite coating. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used for determination of the structure and the surface morphology of the fabricated nanocoatings. The biointegration activity of the layers was estimated based on fibroblasts' proliferation on the TNT/HA surface. The antibacterial activity was determined by analyzing the ability of the layers to inhibit bacterial colonization and biofilm formation. Mechanical properties of the Ti6Al4V/TNT/HA samples were estimated by measuring the hardness, Young's module, and susceptibility to scratching. The results revealed that the nanoporous titanium alloy coatings enriched with a very thin hydroxyapatite layer may be a promising way to achieve the desired balance between biofunctional and biomechanical properties of modern implants.
Keywords: Ti6Al4V; atomic layer deposition; hydroxyapatite; nanotubes; titania.