Controllable biodegradation and enhanced osseointegration of ZrO2-nanofilm coated Zn-Li alloy: In vitro and in vivo studies

Wei Yuan; Dandan Xia; Yufeng Zheng; Xiangmei Liu; Shuilin Wu; Bo Li; Yong Han; Zhaojun Jia; Donghui Zhu; Liqun Ruan; Kazuki Takashima; Yunsong Liu; Yongsheng Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.actbio.2020.01.022

Controllable biodegradation and enhanced osseointegration of ZrO₂-nanofilm coated Zn-Li alloy: In vitro and in vivo studies

Acta Biomater. 2020 Mar 15:105:290-303. doi: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.01.022. Epub 2020 Jan 20.

Authors

Wei Yuan¹, Dandan Xia¹, Yufeng Zheng², Xiangmei Liu³, Shuilin Wu⁴, Bo Li⁵, Yong Han⁶, Zhaojun Jia⁷, Donghui Zhu⁸, Liqun Ruan⁹, Kazuki Takashima¹⁰, Yunsong Liu¹¹, Yongsheng Zhou¹²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; International Research Organization for Advanced Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-Ku, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan. Electronic address: yfzheng@pku.edu.cn.
³ Ministry-of-Education Key Laboratory for the Green Preparation and Application of Functional Materials, Hubei Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, School of Materials Science & Engineering, Hubei University, Wuhan, 430062, China.
⁴ School of Materials Science & Engineering, The Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics and Machining Technology by the Ministry of Education of China, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China. Electronic address: shuilinwu@tju.edu.cn.
⁵ State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China. Electronic address: hanyong@xjtu.edu.cn.
⁷ Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA.
⁸ Department of Biomedical Engineering, Institute for Engineering-Driven Medicine, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, 100 Nicolls Rd, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
⁹ Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, Kurokami 2-39-1, Kumamoto-shi 860-8555, Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kumamoto University, 2-39-1 Kurokami, Kumamoto 860-8555, Japan.
¹¹ Department of Prosthodontics, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing 100081, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Beijing Key Laboratory of Digital Stomatology, Beijing 100081, China. Electronic address: liuyunsong@hsc.pku.edu.cn.
¹² Department of Prosthodontics, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing 100081, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Beijing Key Laboratory of Digital Stomatology, Beijing 100081, China.

PMID: 31972366
DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2020.01.022

Abstract

Zinc and its alloys have emerged as a new research direction of biodegradable metals (BMs) due to the significant physiological functions of Zn²⁺ ions in human body. However, low inhibitory concentration threshold value to cause cytotoxicity by Zn²⁺ ions during in vitro study and delayed osseointegration in vivo are two key flaws for the bulk Zn-based BMs. To combat these issues, we constructed a barrier layer of ZrO₂ nanofilm on the surface of Zn-0.1(wt.%) Li alloy via atomic layer deposition (ALD). A decreased release of Zn²⁺ ions accompanied with accelerated release of Li⁺ ions was observed on account of galvanic coupling between the coating compositions and Zn-0.1Li alloy substrate. Cytocompatibility assay reflected that ZrO₂ nanofilm coated Zn-0.1Li alloy exhibited improved cell adhesion and viability. Histological analysis also demonstrated better in vivo osseointegration for the ZrO₂ nanofilm coated Zn-0.1Li alloy. Hence, the present study elucidated that the ALD of ZrO₂ nanofilm on Zn-based BMs can effectively promote osseointegration and control their biodegradation behavior. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Zn-Li binary alloy was reported recently to be the promising biodegradable metals with ultimate tensile strength over 500 MPa, yet the low inhibitory concentration threshold value to cause cytotoxicity by Zn²⁺ ions is the obstacle needed to be overcome. As a pilot study, a systematic investigation on the ZrO₂ nanofilm coated Zn-Li alloy, prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique, was conducted in the present study, which involved in the formation process, in vitro and in vivo degradation behavior as well as biocompatibility evaluation. We found a controllable corrosion rate and better in vivo osseointegration can be achieved by ZrO₂ nanofilm coating on Zn-Li alloy, which provides new insight into the surface modification on biodegradable Zn alloys for usage within bone.

Keywords: Atomic layer deposition; Biocompatibility; Biodegradation; Orthopedic implants; Zirconia nanofilm; Zn-Li alloy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Absorbable Implants
Alloys / pharmacology*
Animals
Cell Death / drug effects
Cell Line
Cell Survival / drug effects
Electrochemistry
Lithium / pharmacology*
Male
Mice
Nanoparticles / chemistry*
Organ Specificity
Osseointegration / drug effects*
Photoelectron Spectroscopy
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Surface Properties
X-Ray Diffraction
Zinc / pharmacology*
Zirconium / pharmacology*

Substances

Alloys
Lithium
Zirconium
Zinc
zirconium oxide