Improvement of Titanium Corrosion Resistance by Coating with Poly-Caprolactone and Poly-Caprolactone/Titanium Dioxide: Potential Application in Heart Valves

Heart diseases affect part of world population and generally involves the functioning of valves. Valves replacement is the most common treatment and the choice between synthetic or natural/biological implants depends on several factors. Synthetic implants have greater durability, whereas biological ones are more biocompatible. This work proposes the use of polymeric coating on titanium metal surface to increase implant biocompatibility. Poly-caprolactone (PCL) has demonstrated greater efficacy for biomedical applications due to its biocompatibility. It can easily form films and coat surfaces. Titanium discs were submitted to alkaline and thermal treatments and coated with 1%PCL and 1%PCL+TiO2. For both conditions, PCL crystals were found in titanium coated surface (SEM and EDX) and X-ray diffractogram confirmed PCL coating. Infrared Spectroscopy spectra showed both PCL and TiO2 characteristic peaks. Moreover, corrosion resistance of coated disc has considerably increased, proving the effectiveness of PCL as coating material and its potential application in cardiac valves.