Cellular behavior and antibacterial properties of MAO/PCL-chitosan-nanobaghdadite composite coating on biodegradable AZ91 alloy

•Cellular behavior of MAO/PCL-chitosan coating improved by adding nanobaghdadite.•The best cell viability was obtained for MAO/PCL-Ch-3 %wtBagh among the coated-samples.•A further increase in optimum percentage (3 %wtBagh) could lead to decreasing cell viability.•Antibacterial properties of the samples were decreased by increasing nanobaghdadite. In the current research, a double layer coating including micro-arc oxidation (MAO) and polycaprolactone-chitosan polymer matrix composite with nanobaghdadite (MAO/PCL-Ch-Bagh) was applied on AZ91 magnesium alloy and the effect of different nanobaghdadite (0, 1, 3, and 5 (all in wt.%)) on cytotoxicity, and antibacterial behavior of AZ91 substrate was investigated. The results of the MTT assay indicated that the cell viability of the samples was increased by enhancing the nanobaghdadite percentage and the best cell viability was obtained for MAO/PCL-Ch-3 %wtBagh. However, a further increase in the percentage of nanobaghdadite to 5 % led to a decrease in the cell viability. On the contrary, the antibacterial properties of the samples were decreased by increasing the nanobaghdadite which could be due to an enhancement in the electrochemical behavior of the duplex-coated samples.