The Development and Investigation of Biocompatibility Properties of Biodegradable Magnesium–Zinc Scaffold Electrodeposited with Hydroxyapatite

Abstract

In the present work, a biodegradable porous Mg–3 wt % Zn scaffold was synthesized by a powder metallurgical method and then a nano hydroxyapatite (HAP) coating with the composition of Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2 on the scaffold was produced by pulse electrodeposition and alkali treatment processes to increase the biodegradability and biocompatibility of the scaffold. The results showed that the as-deposited coating consisted of HAP, CaHPO4 ⋅ 2H2O (DCPD) and Ca8H2(PO4)6 ⋅ 5H2O (OCP) with needle-like and plate-like morphologies; the post-treated coating was composed of a needle-like structure of nano HAP developed almost perpendicularly to the substrate. Electrochemical tests indicated that the corrosion current density reduced from 1.531 × 10–3 to 3.78 × 10–5 A cm–2 and the corrosion potential of the scaffold increased from–1.448 to–1.366 V. The results showed higher biocompatibility and cell viabilities for as-coated and post-treated scaffold extracts than that for an uncoated scaffold. Also, MG63 cells were found to adhere and proliferate on the surface of the as-coated and post-treated scaffolds, making it a promising choice for medical applications. This study showed that electrodeposition of a HAP coating is a useful approach to increase the corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of the porous Mg–Zn scaffold in simulated body fluid and to develop Mg-based scaffolds.