A metal coating of copper-titanium as potential biomaterials

Bioceramic coatings have been widely applied to biomaterials owing to their good biocompalibility and bioinert in clinic, however, their friability and limited mechanical properties on some medical devices restrict the applications. In this work, a copper-titanium metal coating as potential medical materials was prepared by physical vapor deposition (PVD) method, the ratio of copper-titanium atom was regulated by changing the different targets current. The phase structure, dimensions distribution and element content of the copper-titanium coating were determined by X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) and energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS), respectively. The adherence strength between substrate and coating was characterized via nano-scratch test, and cell proliferation was employed to evaluate the biocompatibility. The results showed that the coating with various ratios of copper-titanium atom was obtained successfully. The copper distribution was uniform in the coating. The proliferation of endothelial cell was enhanced at low copper concentrate and the increase of the copper content may improve cell toxicity. The adherence strength between the coating and substrate is favorable. The results of the present study indicated that the copper-titanium coating is suitable for surface modification of biomedical devices and may be a potential biomedical material.