Adhesion and Scratch Testing of Antibiotic Loaded Poly-Lactic Acid Biocomposite Thin Films on Metallic Implants

Surface modifications have been progressively applied in order to improve the mechanical, biological and chemical properties of metallic dental and orthopedic implants. Therefore, the novel and multifunctional biocomposites coating matrices, which also consist of local and targeted drug delivery systems, are the most recent applications in the medical field. In this study, gentamicin antibiotic containing HAp bioceramics were utilized in a biodegradable poly-lactic acid thin film matrix which was applied to Ti6Al4V metallic implant surfaces. Nano-indentation and scratch test methods were applied. It was observed that, bonding between coating and the substrate is strong enough to be used in implant applications. Additionally, it was observed that the hardness and young modulus values of uncoated Ti6Al4V disc which were 4.3 and 125.2 GPa, respectively. However, under the same testing conditions, it was also observed that the H values (0.6-0.8GPa) and the E (50-60 GPa) values of PLA-HAp biocomposite coated samples are slightly higher than the H values (0.4-0.6 GPa) and the E values (40-50 GPa) of only PLA coated sample