Enhanced antibacterial activity, corrosion resistance and endothelialization potential of Ti-5Cu alloy by oxygen and nitrogen plasma-based surface modification

Antibacterial Ti-5Cu alloy is a promising substitute material for Ti-made cardiovascular implants, so its surface engineering is crucial to expediting clinical implementation. Given the antibacterial and cardiovascular biological benefits of Cu 2+ and titanium-nitride-oxide (TiN x O y ) coatings, a Cu 2 O/CuO-TiN x O y coating with upregulated Cu 2+ release was successfully deposited on Ti-5Cu alloy for the first time using oxygen and nitrogen plasma-based surface modification. The superhydrophilic and nanostructured Cu 2 O/CuO-TiN x O y coating had a dense structure and was well bonded to the substrate, resulting in enhanced corrosion resistance, while CuO/Cu 2 O in the coating released Cu 2+ faster than Ti 2 Cu phase in the matrix. More gratifying, the coating demonstrated perfect antibacterial properties ( R > 99.9% against S. aureus ), owing primarily to direct contact sterilization of Cu 2 O/CuO. The most encouraging phenomenon was that the coating dramatically accelerated HUVEC adhesion (1.4 times), proliferation (RGR: 106%-116%), and particularly migration ( RMR : 158%-247%) compared with the control Ti. The coating extract also significantly stimulated in vitro angiogenesis capacity. The rapid endothelialization for Cu 2 O/CuO-TiN x O y coating was attributed to the surface nanostructure and Cu 2+ /NO 2 ? release, which upregulated the angiogenesis-related gene expression of HIF-1α, VEGF, and eNOS to increase VEGF secretion and NO production. All of the findings indicated that the Cu 2 O/CuO-TiN x O y coating could enhance the corrosion resistance, antibacterial properties, and endothelialization potential of Ti-Cu alloy, displaying great clinical potential in cardiovascular applications.

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