Electrophoretic deposition of hydroxyapatite coating on Fecralloy and analysis of human osteoblastic cellular response

Magnetic hydroxyapatite: a promising multifunctional platform for nanomedicine application

In this review, specific attention is paid to the development of nanostructured magnetic hydroxyapatite (MHAp) and its potential application in controlled drug/gene delivery, tissue engineering, magnetic hyperthermia treatment, and the development of contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging. Both magnetite and hydroxyapatite materials have excellent prospects in nanomedicine with multifunctional therapeutic approaches. To date, many research articles have focused on biomedical applications of nanomaterials because of which it is very difficult to focus on any particular type of nanomaterial. This study is possibly the first effort to emphasize on the comprehensive assessment of MHAp nanostructures for biomedical applications supported with very recent experimental studies. From basic concepts to the real-life applications, the relevant characteristics of magnetic biomaterials are patented which are briefly discussed. The potential therapeutic and diagnostic ability of MHAp-nanostructured materials make them an ideal platform for future nanomedicine. We hope that this advanced review will provide a better understanding of MHAp and its important features to utilize it as a promising material for multifunctional biomedical applications.

Nanoindentation Study of Phase-pure Highly Crystalline Hydroxyapatite Coatings Deposited by Microplasma Spraying

The present contribution has originated from a critical biomedical engineering issue e.g., loosening of metallic prostheses fixed with poly(methylmethylacrylate) (PMMA) bone cement especially in the case of hip joint replacement which ultimately forces the patient to undergo a revision surgery. Subsequently surgeons invented a cementless fixation technology introducing a bioactive hydroxyapatite (HAp) coating to the metallic implant surface. A wide variety of different coating methods have been developed to make the HAp coating on metallic implants more reliable; of which ultimately the plasma spraying method has been commercially accepted. However, the story was not yet finished at all, as many questions were raised regarding coating adherence, stability and bio-functionality in both in vitro and in vivo environments. Moreover, it has been now realized that the conventional high power plasma spraying (i.e. conventional atmospheric plasma spraying, CAPS) coating method creates many disadvantages in terms of phase impurity; reduced porosity limiting osseointegration and residual stresses which ultimately lead to inadequate mechanical properties and delamination of the coating. Further, poor crystallinity of HAp deposited by CAPS accelerates the rate of bioresorption, which may cause poor adhesion due to quick mass loss of HAp coatings. Therefore, in the present work a very recently developed method e.g., low power microplasma spraying method was utilized to coat HAp on SS316L substrates to minimize the aforementioned problems associated with commercial CAPS HAp coatings. Surgical grade SS316L has been chosen as the substrate material because it is more cost effective than Ti6Al4V and CoCrMo alloys.

Electrophoretic deposition of biomaterials

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is attracting increasing attention as an effective technique for the processing of biomaterials, specifically bioactive coatings and biomedical nanostructures. The well-known advantages of EPD for the production of a wide range of microstructures and nanostructures as well as unique and complex material combinations are being exploited, starting from well-dispersed suspensions of biomaterials in particulate form (microsized and nanoscale particles, nanotubes, nanoplatelets). EPD of biological entities such as enzymes, bacteria and cells is also being investigated. The review presents a comprehensive summary and discussion of relevant recent work on EPD describing the specific application of the technique in the processing of several biomaterials, focusing on (i) conventional bioactive (inorganic) coatings, e.g. hydroxyapatite or bioactive glass coatings on orthopaedic implants, and (ii) biomedical nanostructures, including biopolymer-ceramic nanocomposites, carbon nanotube coatings, tissue engineering scaffolds, deposition of proteins and other biological entities for sensors and advanced functional coatings. It is the intention to inform the reader on how EPD has become an important tool in advanced biomaterials processing, as a convenient alternative to conventional methods, and to present the potential of the technique to manipulate and control the deposition of a range of nanomaterials of interest in the biomedical and biotechnology fields.