ZnP-Coated Zn-1Cu-0.1Ti Membrane with High Strength-Ductility, Antibacterial Ability, Cytocompatibility, and Osteogenesis for Biodegradable Guided Bone Regeneration Applications

Zinc (Zn) and its alloys have recently gained research interest due to their good biosafety, biological function, biodegradability, and formability. Zinc-phosphate (ZnP) coating has been shown to improve the corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of Zn alloys. Here, a biodegradable ZnP-coating on Zn-1Cu-0.1Ti (ZCT) membrane with high strength-ductility and mechanical stability, suitable degradation rate, effective antibacterial ability, excellent in vitro and in vivo cytocompatibility, and osteogenesis is reported. The ZnP-coated ZCT exhibits high strength-ductility with a yield strength of 264 MPa, ultimate tensile strength of 312 MPa, elongation of 36.0%, and high mechanical stability before and after 30 d immersion in Hanks' and AS solutions, all of which are higher than those of ZCT. The ZnP coating shows good deformation resistance, healing effect, and bond strength with the substrate, meeting the clinical contour shaping requirements. The ZnP-coated ZCT membrane sample shows higher cell viability toward MC3T3-E1 and MG-63 cells, osteogenic and mitochondrial quality-control properties in vitro than those of the ZCT sample. Using a rat calvarial defect model, the ZnP-coated ZCT membrane shows complete biosafety and considerable osteogenesis performance. Overall, the ZnP-coated ZCT membrane is recommended as a promising biodegradable implant material for oral guided bone regeneration application.