Functionally graded hydroxyapatite coatings doped with antibacterial components

A series of functionally graded hydroxyapatite (FGHA) coatings incorporated with various percentages of silver were deposited on titanium substrates using ion beam-assisted deposition. The analysis of the coating’s cross-section using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy has shown a decreased crystallinity as well as a distribution of nanoscale (10–50 nm) silver particles from the coating/substrate interface to top surface. Both X-ray diffraction and fast Fourier transforms on high-resolution TEM images revealed the presence of hydroxyapatite within the coatings. The amount of Ag (wt.%) on the outer surface of the FGHA, as determined from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ranged from 1.09 to 6.59, which was about half of the average Ag wt.% incorporated in the entire coating. Average adhesion strengths evaluated by pull-off tests were in the range of 83 ± 6 to 88 ± 3 MPa, which is comparable to 85 MPa for FGHA without silver. Further optical observations of failed areas illustrated that the dominant failure mechanism was epoxy failure, and FGHA coating delamination was not observed.