Deposition of magnesium on surface-modified titanium for biomedical applications

Surface modification of titanium (Ti) is a common route to accelerate its integration with bone tissue and minimize the risk of loosening and need for revision surgery. Here, we have used four different methods of (a) immersion, (b) single-step anodization, (c) reverse polarization, and (d) reverse polarization followed by anodic oxidation to analyze the feasibility of magnesium (Mg) deposition as an osteogenic and angiogenic factor on surface of Ti with nanotubular structure. Results showed that nanotubular structure was not formed during reverse polarization; however, uniformly distributed nanotubes were found using the other three methods. While using 1.0 g of Mg precursor, the deposited Mg amount was 1.8 +/- 0.12, 0.9 +/- 0.15, and 3.13 +/- 1.04 wt% for immersion, single-step anodization, and reverse polarization followed by anodic oxidation, respectively. This shows that with precise processing steps, Mg can be deposited on Ti for potential tissue engineering applications.