Highly adherent bioactive glass thin films synthetized by magnetron sputtering at low temperature

Thin (380-510 nm) films of a low silica content bioglass with MgO, B(2)O(3), and CaF(2) as additives were deposited at low-temperature (150°C) by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering onto titanium substrates. The influence of sputtering conditions on morphology, structure, composition, bonding strength and in vitro bioactivity of sputtered bioglass films was investigated. Excellent pull-out adherence (~73 MPa) was obtained when using a 0.3 Pa argon sputtering pressure (BG-a). The adherence declined (~46 MPa) upon increasing the working pressure to 0.4 Pa (BG-b) or when using a reactive gas mixture (~50 MPa). The SBF tests clearly demonstrated strong biomineralization features for all bioglass sputtered films. The biomineralization rate increased from BG-a to BG-b, and yet more for BG-c. A well-crystallized calcium hydrogen phosphate-like phase was observed after 3 and 15 days of immersion in SBF in all bioglass layers, which transformed monotonously into hydroxyapatite under prolonged SBF immersion. Alkali and alkali-earth salts (NaCl, KCl and CaCO(3)) were also found at the surface of samples soaked in SBF for 30 days. The study indicated that features such as composition, structure, adherence and bioactivity of bioglass films can be tailored simply by altering the magnetron sputtering working conditions, proving that this less explored technique is a promising alternative for preparing implant-type coatings.