Bioactive hybrid coatings of poly(ε-caprolactone)-silica xerogel on titanium for biomedical applications

Poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-silica xerogel (PCL-SiO2) hybrid coatings were successfully prepared on the surface of titanium (Ti) plates via a sal-gel spin-coating technique. The influences of the SiO2 content on the phase composition, surface morphology, wettability and in vitro bioactivity of the coatings were investigated. The results showed that silica xerogel was homogeneously hybridized with PCL when the SiO2 content was less than 30%, forming hybrid coatings with a quite smooth and dense surface. Moreover, the PCL-30% SiO2 hybrid coatings exhibited a significant improvement in hydrophilicity and apatite-forming ability as compared to the pure PCL coatings, thus potentially serving as a good candidate to improve the biological performance of the Ti implants. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.