Surface modification of TiTa alloy by hydrothermal-precalcification treatment and its excellent apatite-forming inductivity

Abstract

TiTa alloys are ideal candidate materials for biomedical implants due to their good biocompatibility and low elastic modulus. However, the poor surface bioactivity affects their clinical efficacy. In this work, a facile two-step hydrothermal-precalcification route was employed to boost the bioactivity of TiTa alloy. A super-hydrophilic Ta-containing TiO2 film with hierarchical micro/nanostructure was first constructed on the surface of the TiTa alloy via hydrothermal treatment. After the subsequent precalcification treatment, calcium and phosphorus species with low content were introduced into the film without morphological changes. The simulated body fluid (SBF) soaking tests demonstrated that the induction formation time of bone-like apatite was greatly reduced from 18 days to only 1 day for TiTa alloy with two-step surface treatment. The results suggest that the hydrothermal-precalcification treatment is a promising approach for improving the osteoinductive activity of titanium-based implant materials.