Improvement of two-body wear behavior and biocompatibility of Ti15Mo alloys in dental applications by TiN, TiCN coatings

This study investigates the tribological performance, antimicrobial properties, and cytotoxicity of Ti15Mo alloys coated with TiN and TiCN via physical vapor deposition (PVD). The alloys were subjected to a two-body wear test in distilled water, simulating 2 years of clinical use in a chewing simulator. The wear testing demonstrated a significant reduction in wear volume loss for both TiN and TiCN coatings compared to the uncoated Ti15Mo substrate. TiCN exhibited superior wear resistance, as evidenced by lower friction coefficients and minimal wear damage. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy validated the achieved coating of compact, homogeneous coatings. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed columnar microstructures with an approximate thickness of 2.5 µm. Antibacterial assays indicated a notable reduction in bacterial adherence and growth on the coated surfaces, with TiCN displaying the most significant antibacterial performance against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Cytotoxicity was assessed through MTT assays, showing that TiN and TiCN coatings exhibited high biocompatibility, with cell viability above 70%. These findings demonstrate that TiN and TiCN coatings significantly enhance the wear resistance, antibacterial performance, and biocompatibility of Ti15Mo alloys, positioning them as viable candidates for advanced biomedical applications. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025.