Metallic glass thin films for potential biomedical applications

We introduce metallic glass thin films (TiCuNi) as biocompatible materials for biomedical applications. TiCuNi metallic glass thin films were deposited on the Si substrate and their structural, surface, and mechanical properties were investigated. The fabricated films showed good biocompatibility upon exposure to muscle cells. Also, they exhibited an average roughness of <0.2 nm, high wear resistance, and high mechanical properties (hardness 6.9 GPa and reduced modulus 130 GPa). Top surface of the TiCuNi films was shown to be free from Ni and mainly composed of a thin titanium oxide layer, which resulted in the high surface biocompatibility. In particular, there was no cytotoxicity effect of metallic glass films on the C2C12 myoblasts and the cells were able to proliferate well on these substrates. Low cost, viscoelastic behavior, patternability, high electrical conductivity, and the capability to coat various materials (e.g., nonbiocompatible materials) make TiCuNi as an attractive material for biomedical applications.