Enhancing the performance of reinforced hydroxyapatite coatings through post coating treatment

Abstract

To enhance the metallurgical, mechanical, and biological properties of medical implants in bodily fluid environments, biocompatible coatings are applied to biomaterials. These biocompatible coatings have a porous structure that promotes effective osseointegration and the ability to prevent harmful ions from metal from seeping into the surrounding bodily environment. In the present study, the impact of the addition of Tantlum carbide (TaC) with 5 and 10 wt% as reinforcement in hydroxyapatite (HA) on the morphology, mechanical and cell viability of plasma-sprayed coatings were investigated. The post-coating treatments are carried on pure HA, HA-R5(HA+5%TaC) & HA-R10 (HA+10%TaC) coatings at 900 °C and at low-temperature treatment at −196 °C. The results showed that heat treatment affects the crystallinity, surface roughness, and bond strength under different high-temperature and low-temperature treatments. Further, in-vitro results show that post-treated samples have more survival of cells as compared to as-sprayed samples. Also, heat-treated and reinforced HA coatings showed no toxicity.