The Electrochemical and Biological Behaviour of Biomedical Alloy by Surface Modification Technique through E-Beam Evaporation

Abstract

Biomedical implants, especially the hip and knee implants, have been evolved over the years with great significance in terms of its biocompatibility and corrosion resistance. These implants, however, fail at their longevity when they encounter with the tissue, which is generally due to the failure in coatings over the surface of the implants. Moreover, coating procedures are very complex for applying them to three-dimensional implant structures. Hence to improve the coating property and make them easily applicable, we report a simple and realistic approach of Electron beam (E-beam) evaporation to modify the surface of the bio-metals (Ti–6Al–4V and 316L SS) with hydroxyapatite. The surface characterisation was done using SEM, XRD and AFM, which showed better thin film formation of hydroxyapatite (HA) on the metals. The potentiodynamic polarization and EIS measurements showed that hydroxyapatite-coated surfaces have better corrosion resistance than the bare metal substrates. The immersion study in SBF and cell viability using 3T3 cells proved that HA coated samples show better biomineralisation and better biocompatibility. Thus, HA deposition by E-beam evaporation over the metallic substrates can be applied as an effective surface modification technique for developing implant materials.