Durability evaluation of biopolymer coating on titanium alloy substrate.

For this study, a commercially available phosphorylcholine (PC) polymer was applied to Ti6Al4V ELI. A multivariate approach to design a statistically significant array of experiments was employed to evaluate and estimate optimization of PC-immobilization process factors. The seven process factors analyzed were (1) power level for RFGD plasma treatment, (2) duration of plasma treatment, (3) concentration of PC solution used to coat samples, (4) rate at which samples were dipped in/out of the solution, (5) temperature for curing, (6) relative humidity level during curing, and (7) duration of curing. Imaging and analysis of the coating were done via fluorescence microscopy (FM), confirming the uniform coverage of PC polymer on titanium substrate. The process factors were evaluated by three measured responses: initial thickness, coating durability and degree of cross-linked coating, which were assessed by FM, a spray test and extraction in IPA, respectively. Variations in PC solution concentration showed no impact on fouling resistance of the resultant coating. It was hypothesized that the PC-application process factors could be optimized to yield favorable outcomes in durability and degree of cross-linked coating responses. The resulting statistical model indicates that PC solution concentration, dip rate, and cure temperature are the three greatest singular effects on both durability and degree of cross-linking. In addition, plasma treatment of the substrate with O2 was effective in enhancing the degree of cross-linking of the polymer surface.