Hemocompatibility of titanium-based coatings prepared by metal plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition

Metal plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (MePIIID) has been proved to be an effective approach to enhance surface properties of various types of materials. In this work structure, phase composition, microhardness and surface properties, such as wettability and surface energy of layers of the ternary system Ti–N–O produced by MePIIID were investigated. To study the correlation between structure of coating and hemocompatibility the thrombocyte adhesion as well as the fibrinogen adsorption on the surface were measured. The blood compatibility of Ti oxide can be improved by the addition of nitrogen into the layer. The thrombocyte adhesion and fibrinogen adsorption were lower for TiNxOy than for TiO2. This correlates with a lower hydrophobicity and higher polar component of the surface energy for TiNxOy. The best hemocompatibility as well as the maximal microhardness have been found for the coating TiN0.4O1.6.