Effect of cellulose type on microstructure and properties of cellulose/curcumin/chitosan coatings obtained on titanium substrates by electrophoretic deposition - replication data

This study aimed to investigate the electrophoretic deposition (EPD), microstructure, properties, and microbiological activity of multi-component curcumin/chitosan coatings strengthened with cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) on titanium substrates. The findings indicated that the pure cellulose dispersed systems had a negative zeta potential, indicating the mechanism of chitosan molecules being adsorbed on the surface of dispersed additives and co-depositing with them on the cathode. CMC and chitosan form a hydrogel-like polyelectrolyte complex structure in a dispersed system, preventing the possibility of obtaining homogeneous coatings via EPD regardless of the process parameters. However, coatings containing CNFs proved to be homogeneous and exhibited high adhesion strength and enhanced scratch resistance, and thus have been selected as the most promising. Their microstructure consisted of submicrometric spherical curcumin particles and CNFs of various sizes homogeneously embedded in the chitosan matrix. The elaborated materials exhibited an increased surface roughness compared to the uncoated substrate, as well as moderate hydrophobicity (water contact angle of 92.4° ± 1.2°). Electrochemical studies confirmed that the CNF and curcumin/chitosan coatings improved corrosion resistance compared to the bare titanium substrate and the coating without CNF. The CNF/curcumin/chitosan surface also showed significant activity against S. aureus ATCC® 25923 both in terms of bactericidal activity and against biofilm formation