Effect of substrate temperature on mechanical properties of calcium phosphate coatings

Calcium orthophosphate deposits: Preparation, properties and biomedical applications

Since various interactions among cells, surrounding tissues and implanted biomaterials always occur at their interfaces, the surface properties of potential implants appear to be of paramount importance for the clinical success. In view of the fact that a limited amount of materials appear to be tolerated by living organisms, a special discipline called surface engineering was developed to initiate the desirable changes to the exterior properties of various materials but still maintaining their useful bulk performances. In 1975, this approach resulted in the introduction of a special class of artificial bone grafts, composed of various mechanically stable (consequently, suitable for load bearing applications) implantable biomaterials and/or bio-devices covered by calcium orthophosphates (CaPO4) to both improve biocompatibility and provide an adequate bonding to the adjacent bones. Over 5000 publications on this topic were published since then. Therefore, a thorough analysis of the available literature has been performed and about 50 (this number is doubled, if all possible modifications are counted) deposition techniques of CaPO4 have been revealed, systematized and described. These CaPO4 deposits (coatings, films and layers) used to improve the surface properties of various types of artificial implants are the topic of this review.

Processing and evaluation of bioactive coatings on polymeric implants

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a high-performance polymer with advantages over metallic biomaterials for application in spinal implants. In this study, hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings were deposited onto PEEK substrates using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering for the purpose of improving bioactivity. An intermediate coating layer of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was first deposited onto the PEEK substrates to provide heat shielding during subsequent post-deposition heat treatment to prevent degradation of PEEK substrates and coating/substrate interface. Plasma activation of the PEEK substrate surfaces before deposition resulted in a significant increase in coating adhesion strength. Post-deposition heat treatments of microwave and hydrothermal annealing were studied with the goal of forming crystalline HA without the use of high temperatures required in conventional annealing. Microstructural and compositional analyses by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction revealed that the YSZ layer exhibited a crystalline structure as-deposited, with columnar grains oriented along the growth direction, whereas the HA layer was shown to be amorphous as-deposited. After microwave annealing, the HA coating exhibited a columnar crystalline microstructure, similar to that of the underlying YSZ crystalline layer; XRD analysis confirmed a crystalline HA phase in the coating. It is suggested that the existence of the crystalline YSZ layer aids in the formation of the HA layer upon heating, possibly lowering the activation energy for crystallization by providing nucleation sites for HA grain formation. Cell culture tests showed a significant increase in initial cell attachment and growth on the microwave-annealed coatings, compared with uncoated PEEK and amorphous HA surfaces.

Osteoblast adhesion to functionally graded hydroxyapatite coatings doped with silver

Silver-doped functionally graded hydroxyapatite (Ag-FGHA) coatings have been prepared on glass and titanium substrates by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) method with in situ heat treatment, and the biological response and dissolution properties of the coatings have been examined. Three Ag-FGHA coatings with different percentages of silver (1, 3, and 6.6 wt % Ag) were compared with pure FGHA (without Ag) as a control. MC 3T3-E1 murine osteoblast cells were cultured on FGHA and Ag-FGHA coating surfaces, and the number of adhered cells after 1, 4, and 7 days was counted. Micromanipulation of live single cells was performed to quantitatively compare cell affinity among the four coating compositions. Results showed that FGHA-Ag1 coating (with 1 wt % Ag) had the highest number of adhered cells after each incubation period, as well as the highest cell affinity after 24-h incubation. Surface profilometry was performed to determine surface roughness average (R(a) ) of coating surfaces before and after immersion in high-purity water, showing that all surfaces initially had roughness averages below 200 nm, while after immersion, roughness average of FGHA-Ag1 surface was significantly increased (R(a) = 404 +/- 100.8 nm), attributed to the highest rate of dissolution. Release rate of Ag+ ions in solution was measured, showing release rates of silver ions for all Ag-doped coatings were initially high and then gradually decreased to a minimum over time, which is the expected dissolution of functionally graded coatings. It is concluded that FGHA-Ag1 coating promoted the highest degree of osteoblast adhesion because of optimal dissolution rate and nontoxic Ag percentage.

Functionally graded hydroxyapatite coatings doped with antibacterial components

A series of functionally graded hydroxyapatite (FGHA) coatings incorporated with various percentages of silver were deposited on titanium substrates using ion beam-assisted deposition. The analysis of the coating's cross-section using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning transmission electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy has shown a decreased crystallinity as well as a distribution of nanoscale (10-50nm) silver particles from the coating/substrate interface to top surface. Both X-ray diffraction and fast Fourier transforms on high-resolution TEM images revealed the presence of hydroxyapatite within the coatings. The amount of Ag (wt.%) on the outer surface of the FGHA, as determined from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ranged from 1.09 to 6.59, which was about half of the average Ag wt.% incorporated in the entire coating. Average adhesion strengths evaluated by pull-off tests were in the range of 83+/-6 to 88+/-3MPa, which is comparable to 85MPa for FGHA without silver. Further optical observations of failed areas illustrated that the dominant failure mechanism was epoxy failure, and FGHA coating delamination was not observed.

Deposition and investigation of functionally graded calcium phosphate coatings on titanium

A series of calcium phosphate coatings with graded crystallinity were deposited onto heated titanium substrates using ion beam assisted deposition. The microstructure of the coating was examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The coating thickness was observed to be in a range of 594-694 nm. The degree of crystallinity and microstructural grain size of the coating showed a clear decrease with increasing distance from the substrate-coating interface. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the presence of PO(4)(3-), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis on the coating top surface showed that the atomic Ca/P ratio was in the range of 1.52+/-0.15 to 1.61+/-0.07. The biological response to the coatings was also evaluated using an osteoblast precursor cell culture test. More cells and a higher integrin expression of cell attachment sites were observed on the coating surface when compared to the control group (blank titanium surface). The pull-off test showed average adhesion strengths at the coating-substrate interface to be higher than 85.12+/-5.37 MPa. Nanoindentation tests indicated that the Young's moduli of all coatings are higher than 91.747+/-3.641 GPa and microhardness values are higher than 5.275+/-0.315 GPa. While the adhesion strength results helped us to identify the best setup for substrate temperature and processing parameters to begin the deposition, the culture test and XPS results helped identifying the optimum parameters for the last stage of deposition. TEM, X-ray diffraction, FTIR and nanoidentation results were used to further evaluate the quality of the coating and optimization of its processing parameters.