Alginate hydrogel coating with hydrothermally synthesized CaTiO₃ interlayer on titanium

A double-layer coating system consisting of hydrothermally synthesized CaTiO₃ and dip coated alginate hydrogel was prepared to improve osseointegration of titanium implants. The prepared coating samples were characterized by XRD, Raman scattering, FT-IR spectroscopy and SEM-EDX. The results show that the hydrothermally synthesized coatings are composed of crystalline CaTiO₃ and a little CaCO₃. The sodium alginate hydrogel coatings were crosslinked by calcium ions from the coating and CaCl₂ solution. The hydrogel coatings have good hydrophilicity and low Young’s modulus (2.87±1.32 GPa). Alginate film has lowered open circuit potential, corrosion potential and increased corrosion current density, but not influenced passivation of the hydrothermally treated titanium. In vitro cell adhesion assay with MC3T3-E1 cells demonstrates better osteoblast attachment on the composite coating samples in comparison with the polished titanium and CaTiO₃ coating sample. The double-layer CaTiO₃/alginate hydrogel coatings would have the potential to accelerate osseointegration of titanium implants.