In vitro investigation of electrophoretically deposited bioactive hydroxyapatite/chitosan coatings reinforced by graphene

Graphene (Gr) and natural polymer chitosan (CS) were introduced to hydroxyapatite (HAP) to produce a three-component composite coating, which was fabricated by cathodic electrophoretic deposition on Ti substrates in an ethanol suspension. These HAP/CS/Gr coatings were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical measurements and found that the graphene into HAP/CS composites significantly improves their morphology, thermal stability, and bioactivity. Both HAP/CS and HAP/CS/Gr composite coatings are classified as non-cytotoxic when tested against healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), while antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli could not be verified.