Maciej Warcaba

Former visiting PhD student (AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland)

Electrophoretic deposition, microstructure and properties of bioactive hydroxyapatite/ alginate coatings on titanium substrates

 

Supervisor in Krakow: Prof. Tomasz Moskalewicz

Supervisor in Erlangen: Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini

Titanium and its alloys are among the most important metallic materials used in medicine. They have excellent electrochemical corrosion resistance, low density and low elasticity modulus as well as biocompatibility [1]. However, their osseointegration properties are poor, therefore bioactive coatings are often necessary. In this project, bioactive hydroxyapatite/sodium alginate coatings are fabricated by electrophoretic deposition (EPD). EPD is often used for the deposition of composite coatings on conductive substrates for biomedical applications [2]. The aim of this work is to elaborate the EPD conditions of hydroxyapatite/sodium alginate coatings on titanium biomaterials and to characterize the coatings microstructure and selected properties. These investigations are carried out in the context of the collaboration between the FAU Institute of Biomaterials and the AGH University of Science Technology and within NCN-DFG Beethoven Classic 3 research project.

[1] A. M. Khorasani, M. Goldberg, E. H. Doeven, G. Littlefair, Titanium in Biomedical Applications – Properties and Fabrication: a Review, Journal of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering 5 (2015) 593 – 619

[2] A. R. Boccaccini, S. Keim, R. Ma, Y. Li, I. Zhitomirsky, Electrophoretic deposition of biomaterials, Journal of the Royal Society Interface 7 (2010) S581 – S613.