Materials & Design (Aug 2020)
Cicada-inspired fluoridated hydroxyapatite nanostructured surfaces synthesized by electrochemical additive manufacturing
Abstract
Recently, the cicada-inspired nanostructured surfaces have attracted much interest because they possess remarkable bactericidal ability. However, Gram-positive bacteria are less damageable by the nanopillar structure of a cicada wing surface compared to Gram-negative species. To overcome this shortcoming, fluoridated hydroxyapatite (FHA) is employed owing to its effective antibacterial ability against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Here, we design a novel potential antibacterial surface by combining the cicada wing-like nanopillar structure and the FHA together to potentially exert the advantages of physical and chemical antibacterial strategies simultaneously for battling the antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacteria more effectively. Cicada-inspired FHA nanostructured surfaces have been successfully fabricated on acid-etched titanium (AETi) plates using an electrochemical additive manufacturing (ECAM) method for the first time. The as-prepared FHA nanopillar array consists of close-packed individual nanopillars with diameters, heights, and aspect ratios of ~65–95 nm, ~380–510 nm, and ~4.5–7.5, respectively. The chemical composition of the FHA nanopillar array is similar to that of the Ca10(PO4)6(OH)F. Individual FHA nanopillars possess high crystallinity, long-range regularity, and flaw-free lattices with the [0001] orientation. Our new, cost-effective, and time-saving method for fabricating cicada-inspired FHA nanostructured surfaces could potentially endow orthopedic and dental implants with enhanced antibacterial performance for biomedical applications.
