Promising bio-composites of polypyrrole and chitosan: Surface protective and in vitro biocompatibility performance on 316L SS implants

[Display omitted] •PPy/chitosan coatings were electrochemically deposited on 316L SS implants.•Porous surface morphology was obtained to enrich the biocompatible behavior.•Corrosion studies revealed enhanced protective performance of PPy/Chitosan coatings.•PPy/Chitosan coatings facilitated cell adhesion & stimulated growth of MG-63 cells.•Montecarlo simulations were utilized to find interaction at metal/coating interface. Advanced biomedical materials can potentially be developed from combinations of natural biodegradable polymers and synthetic polymers. We synthesized bioactive composites based on polypyrrole/chitosan through in-situ electrochemical polymerization in oxalic acid medium. Surface characterization results revealed the influence of chitosan inclusion on polypyrrole (PPy) surface morphology. Contact angle results confirmed the enhancement in surface hydrophilicity due to the addition of chitosan into the PPy matrix. Electrochemical corrosion studies revealed that the composite coatings showed enhanced protective performance compared to pure PPy. Further, we investigated the effect of the composite coatings on the growth of MG-63 human osteoblast cells to assess their biocompatibility. Monte Carlo simulations were engaged to assess the interactions between the metal surface and composite coatings. The composite containing equal parts PPy and chitosan was found to be biocompatible; together with the corrosion protection results, the findings indicated that this bioactive coating material has potential for use in 316L SS implants.