Biocompatibility Property and Animal Trail of the Si, Ti-Doped DLC Coating on Ti-Based Alloys-

The biological and mechanical functions of biomaterials which are used as implants in human body are allowed to re-establish, as the diamond-like carbon (DLC) film has become an attractive alternative in recent years. The good properties of DLC films, such as high hardness, resistance in acid and alkali, excellent in corrosion and wear resistances, having low friction coefficient and good biocompatibility, make it become a limelight of coating material on substrate, such as artificial heart valves, cardiovascular stent, blood pump, artificial joints and dental implants. Additionally, DLC is an excellent coating base which could be alloyed with different elements, such as Si, F, N, O, W, V, Co, Mo, Ti and their combinations. The different element compositions could create a specific surface characteristic on DLC. Thus, the purpose of present study is to investigate the effect on mechanical and biological properties of Ti alloy coating with DLC film doped within Ti and Si. The modified DLC film shows not only good in corrosion and wear resistances, but also in antibacterial property due to the element addition of titanium and silicon. This research is design for three years. The first year is to observe the surface morphology by reactive radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputter deposition. And second year is to analyze the hemocompatibility, cell response and antibacterial effect. Then the third year is to assess the feasibility of DLC thin film dopped within Ti and Si through animal clinical experiments, as the results will be a reference for further follow-up clinical trials.