Study of the corrosion resistance and in vitro biocompatibility of PVD TiCN-coated AISI 316 L austenitic stainless steel for orthopedic applications

The aim of the present work was to study the corrosion resistance in Hanks' solution and the in vitro biocompatibility of a TiCN-coated AISI 316 L stainless steel. The electrochemical behavior was assessed using potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity tests were performed to evaluate the potential biocompatibility of the specimens. TiCN morphology was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Bare 316 L specimens were also evaluated for comparison. The results showed that the film morphology strongly influences the electrochemical behavior of the coated underlying metal. TiCN-coated specimens presented neither cytotoxicity nor genotoxicity.