Thin Calcium Phosphate Coatings for Medical Implants

Thin calcium phosphate coatings of about 10 µm or less can improve the bone response in orthopedic and dental implants by overcoming the drawbacks of commercially successful, thick plasma-sprayed coatings. These alternative coatings have shown better adhesion to a variety of substrates and, because of their uniformity in structure and composition, greater stability in the biological environment. Thin Calcium Phosphate Coatings for Medical Implants presents a comprehensive, state-of-the-art review of the preparation, physico-chemical properties, and in vitro and in vivo performance of these bioactive coatings, including comparisons with thick plasma-sprayed techniques. Emphasis is also placed on the benefits of special characterization techniques for this type of thin coating. This book is an essential resource not only for biomaterials researchers and their students, but also for engineers in the design, development, and manufacture of medical implants.

Calcium phosphate coatings ( 50 mm thick), especially those made with hyd- xyapatite (HA), produced by the plasma-spraying process have been succe- fully used on orthopedic and dental implants to improve fixation of these implants in bone. Thin calcium phosphate coatings ( 10mm thick) formed by various techniques other than plasma spraying may be the successor of the current thick plasma-sprayed coatings because of their improved properties. Like plasma-sprayed HA coatings, these alternative calcium phosphate thin coatings are capable of enabling bone formation on their surfaces and forming a bond with the newly formed bone. In addition, the thin calcium phosphate coatings have shown better adhesion to substrates and are more stable in the biological environment because they have more uniform structure and com- sition than plasma-sprayed HA coatings. Moreover, some of these thin calcium phosphate coatings can be formed on all kinds of substrates including polymers and on the entire surfaces of complex geometries such as porous surfaces.

First comprehensive review of the results achieved with thin calcium phosphate coatings on orthopedic and dental implants Compares thin calcium phosphate coatings with thick coatings produced by current plasma-spraying techniques Presents the state-of-the-art in the study of bioactive calcium phosphate coatings Reviews novel methods of coating formation, physico-chemical properties, performance, and characterization techniques

Inhalt
Physicochemistry of Apatite and Its Related Calcium Phosphates.- Characterization of Thin Calcium Phosphate Coating.- In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Thin Calcium Phosphate Coatings.- Pulsed Laser Deposition of Thin Calcium Phosphate Coatings.- Ion Beam Techniques for Thin Calcium Phosphate Coating Production.- Calcium Phosphate Coating Produced by a Sputter Deposition Process.- Silicon-Substituted Hydroxyapatite Thin Films.- Electrochemically Assisted Deposition of Thin CaP Coatings.- Electrosprayed Calcium Phosphate Coating for Biomedical Purposes.- Biomimetic Coatings and Their Biological Functionalization.