Hydroxyapatite/Chitosan/Collagen coatings through galvanic coupling

In this work, the attention was focused on Hydroxyapatite/ Chitosan/Collagen composite as biocoatings for application in orthopaedic devices. Hydroxyapatite was selected for its osteoconductivity due to its chemical structure similar to bones. Collagen has the same function since 90-95% of bone matrix is constituted of collagen fibers. Furthermore, chitosan are largely used yet in medical field (e.g. antibacterial agent or drug deliver) and in this work were used to create a synergic interaction with hydroxyapatite and collagen to increase the strength and bioactivity of coating. Coatings were fabricated by galvanic deposition process that has different advantages an it does not require external power supply. SEM, EDS, XRD and RAMAN were performed for physical-chemical characterizations of biocoatings. Polarization and impedance measurements have been also carried out to evaluate corrosion behavior. ICP-OES was performed to quantify metal ions in solution after aging. Besides, in-vitro cytotoxicity assays have been done for the biological features