Fabrication of Chitosan-Hydroxyapatite Coatings for Biomedical Applications

An electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method has been developed for the fabrication of nanocomposite hydroxyapatite (HA) - chitosan coatings. Cathodic deposits were obtained on various conductive substrates using suspensions of HA nanoparticles in chitosan solutions. The deposition yield has been studied at various deposition conditions. The method enabled the formation of coatings of different thicknesses in the range of up to 50 μm. The deposit composition and microstructure can be varied by the variation of HA concentration in the suspensions. The method enabled the deposition of HA-chitosan coatings containing Ag particles with antimicrobial properties. It was demonstrated that the composite materials can be deposited as monolayers or coatings of graded compositions. The coatings provided corrosion protection of the 316L stainless steel substrates.