Additively manufactured porous titanium 3D–scaffolds with antibacterial Zn-, Ag- calcium phosphate biocoatings

Abstract

The porous 3D scaffolds with three types of pore structure A, B and C were created by the direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) technology from the powders of titanium Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Calcium phosphate (CPC) and Zn‑calcium phosphate (Zn-CPC) coatings were formed on the 3D scaffolds by the micro-arc oxidation (MAO) method in the acidic electrolyte. As well as another calcium phosphate (CPL) and Ag‑calcium phosphate (Ag-CPL) coatings, that were synthesized in the alkaline electrolyte. Preliminary studies of the surface morphology, elemental and phase composition, and strength properties of the coatings were carried out on the plate samples from titanium Ti-6Al-4V alloy using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction, and scratch testing. The surface morphology of the coatings on the 3D scaffolds was also investigated via SEM method. The internal pore structure of both the coated and uncoated samples was examined by the Micro-CT analysis. It was found that the coatings were evenly distributed over the surface and in the inner pore structure of the all types of the 3D scaffolds. The biological studies carried out on both the plate samples and the 3D samples have shown that the coatings demonstrated no cytotoxic effect on cell culture of human fibroblast pFb. All the coatings, excluding CPL, exhibited high antibacterial activity against bacteria MRSA ATCC 43300 and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. • The porous 3D scaffolds with various types of pore structure were created by DMLS technology from the Ti-6Al-4V alloy. • Ag- and Zn‑calcium phosphate coatings were evenly distributed in the inner pore structure of the 3D scaffolds. • The coatings demonstrated no cytotoxic effect on cell culture of human fibroblast and high antibacterial activity.