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

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 Ca 10 (PO 4 ) 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, CaHPO 4 ⋅ 2H 2 O (DCPD) and Ca 8 H 2 (PO 4 ) 6 ⋅ 5H 2 O (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. © 2018, Allerton Press, Inc.