Calcium carbonate hybrid coating promotes the formation of biomimetic hydroxyapatite on titanium surfaces

Abstract

CaCO3 particles dispersed in liquid media have proven to be good inductors of hydroxyapatite (HAp) growth. However, the use of CaCO3 deposited as thin films for this propose is unknown. Here, we report the growth of CaCO3 continuous films on Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) modified titanium surfaces and its use as HAp growth inductor. The Ti surfaces were modified with two, four, and six layers of dihexadecylphosphate (DHP)-LB films containing Ca2+, exposed to CO2 (g) for 12h. The modified surfaces were immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF) at 37°C for 36h and submitted to bioactivity studies. This procedure originates bioactive coatings composed by non-stoichiometric HAp as evidenced by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The presence of the CaCO3 film as pre-coating diminished the time necessary to growth continuous and homogeneous HAp films using a biomimetic approach. The surface properties of the films regarding their roughness, composition, charge, wettability, and surface free energy (γs) were accessed. The presence of HAp increased the wettability and γs of the surfaces. The coatings are not toxic for osteoblasts as observed for cell viability assays obtained after 7 and 14 days of culture. Moreover, the CaCO3 thin films promote the recovery of the osteoblasts viability more than the Ti surfaces themselves.