Bioactivity Of Polyetheretherketone Research Articles

Enhancing bioactivity and biocompatibility of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) for dental and maxillofacial implants: A novel sequential soaking process

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) exhibits excellent biocompatibility, fatigue resistance, and an elastic modulus similar to bone, presenting broad application prospects in the field of dental and maxillofacial implants. However, the bioinertness of PEEK limits its applications. In this study, we developed a method to generate biocompatible and bioactive PEEK through a simple sequential soaking process, aimed at inducing bone differentiation and enhancing antibacterial properties. Initially, a three-dimensional (3D) porous network was introduced on the PEEK surface by soaking in concentrated sulfuric acid and water. Subsequently, the sulfonated PEEK surface was treated with oxygen plasma, followed by immersion in a dopamine solution to coat a polydopamine (PDA) layer. Finally, polydopamine phosphate ester-modified 3D porous PEEK was obtained through the reaction of phosphoryl chloride with surface phenolic hydroxyl groups. Systematic studies were conducted using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, water contact angle analysis, cell proliferation and adhesion, osteogenic gene expression detection, alkaline phosphatase staining, alizarin red staining, and bacterial culture. Overall, compared to unmodified PEEK, the modified PEEK significantly enhanced in vitro cell proliferation and adhesion, osteogenic differentiation, and antibacterial properties. The simple surface modification measures combined in this study may represent a promising technology and could facilitate the application of PEEK in dental and maxillofacial implants.

Development of phosphate-treated PEEK implants with high osseointegration

Recently, various methods have been developed to enhance the bioactivity of polyether ether ketone (PEEK), limiting its clinical applications. But these methods have certain drawbacks, such as the potential impact on the mechanical properties and surface topography of PEEK and the need for specialized equipment. This study introduces a novel chemical surface treatment method, which is cost-effective and does not require any specialized equipment by the use of an alkaline wet process in combination with alkaline solutions and phosphorus-containing compounds. The effectiveness of this method was evaluated by investigating its effects on the surface topography of PEEK and conducting in vitro and in vivo experiments using MC3T3-E1 cells and rabbits. Scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry have confirmed the success of introducing phosphate groups on PEEK surface without altering its surface topography. The bioactivity of the phosphate-treated PEEK was demonstrated through mineralization assays using MC3T3-E1 cells and push-out tests with rabbits. Therefore, without the drawbacks of other methods previously mentioned, this method is capable of producing PEEK materials with high osseointegration without the drawbacks of the previously reported methods and may therefore be applied to various orthopedic implants.

Bioactive Polyetheretherketone with Gelatin Hydrogel Leads to Sustained Release of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 and Promotes Osteogenic Differentiation.

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is one of the most promising implant materials for hard tissues due to its similar elastic modulus; however, usage of PEEK is still limited owing to its biological inertness and low osteoconductivity. The objective of the study was to provide PEEK with the ability to sustain the release of growth factors and the osteogenic differentiation of stem cells. The PEEK surface was sandblasted and modified with polydopamine (PDA). Moreover, successful sandblasting and PDA modification of the PEEK surface was confirmed through physicochemical characterization. The gelatin hydrogel was then chemically bound to the PEEK by adding a solution of glutaraldehyde and gelatin to the surface of the PDA-modified PEEK. The binding and degradation of the gelatin hydrogel with PEEK (GPEEK) were confirmed, and the GPEEK mineralization was observed in simulated body fluid. Sustained release of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2 was observed in GPEEK. When cultured on GPEEK with BMP-2, human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) exhibited osteogenic differentiation. We conclude that PEEK with a gelatin hydrogel incorporating BMP-2 is a promising substrate for bone tissue engineering.

Bioactive PEEK: Surface Enrichment of Vitronectin-Derived Adhesive Peptides.

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a thermoplastic polymer that has been recently employed for bone tissue engineering as a result of its biocompatibility and mechanical properties being comparable to human bone. PEEK, however, is a bio-inert material and, when implanted, does not interact with the host tissues, resulting in poor integration. In this work, the surfaces of 3D-printed PEEK disks were functionalized with: (i) an adhesive peptide reproducing [351-359] h-Vitronectin sequence (HVP) and (ii) HVP retro-inverted dimer (D2HVP), that combines the bioactivity of the native sequence (HVP) with the stability toward proteolytic degradation. Both sequences were designed to be anchored to the polymer surface through specific covalent bonds via oxime chemistry. All functionalized PEEK samples were characterized by Water Contact Angle (WCA) measurements, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to confirm the peptide enrichment. The biological results showed that both peptides were able to increase cell proliferation at 3 and 21 days. D2HVP functionalized PEEK resulted in an enhanced proliferation across all time points investigated with higher calcium deposition and more elongated cell morphology.

Peek in dental implant- A review of literature

Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) is an important material which is used in several dental field like oral implantology, prosthodontic, orthodontic dentistry for dental implants, abutments, healing caps, orthodontic braces, and most importantly denture prosthetic framework. The best mechanical property of PEEK is that it overcomes the disadvantage of titanium implants i.e., aesthetic and allergic reaction. The aim of this article is to mainly focus on the surface modification of PEEK implant material to make it a better version of dental implant so that it overcomes the bioactivity and bone-integrity of the implant then the fabrication, structure, properties, and application, surface topographical modification and bioactive PEEK composites are described.

Electrophoretic deposition of PEEK/bioactive glass composite coatings on stainless steel for orthopedic applications: an optimization for in vitro bioactivity and adhesion strength

Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) is an increasingly investigated biocompatible material for orthopedic and spinal implants. The lack in bioactivity of PEEK has to be addressed, either by surface modification or formation of a composite with bioactive materials, such as hydroxyapatite (HA) or bioglass. The addition of bioactive materials improves the bone ingrowth of implants for biomedical application. Accordingly, this study involves electrophoretic deposition (EPD) to obtain PEEK/bioactive glass (BG) coatings on 316 L stainless steel (SS) substrates. In order to prepare the PEEK/BG suspension 2 wt.% PEEK and 6.67 wt.% BG powder were dispersed in ethanol, while citric acid was used as the charging agent. The optimum EPD parameters were applied electric field of 220 V/cm for 2 min. The deposited green coatings presented a homogeneous microstructure and uniform thickness of ~ 100 μm. Subsequently, sintering temperature was optimized in order to obtainappropriate combination of adhesion strength and the in vitro bioactivity. The optimized sintering parameters (400 °C for 30 min) embedded the BG particles in a PEEK matrix, which improved the adhesion strength of coating to the substrate and also formed apatite crystals upon immersion in simulated body fluid. The coatings sintered at 400 °C showed significant improvement in the corrosion resistance of bare stainless steel. Moreover, the cytocompatibility tests showed that the MG-63 cells proliferate and grow on the surface of PEEK/BG coatings. The results demonstrated that EPD is a convenient method to obtain homogeneous, robust, and bioactive PEEK/BG coatings on 316 L SS substrates for biomedical applications.

Mixed Modification of the Surface Microstructure and Chemical State of Polyetheretherketone to Improve Its Antimicrobial Activity, Hydrophilicity, Cell Adhesion, and Bone Integration.

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is becoming an attractive surgical implant material in the biomedical field. However, its hydrophobicity and biological inertia have seriously hindered its development in the field of biomaterials and application in clinic. In this work, a mixed modification approach of the surface structure and chemical state was proposed to improve hydrophilicity and bioactivity of PEEK and meanwhile endowed it with antimicrobial properties. First, the effect of mixed acids of nitric acid and concentrated sulfuric acid with different volume ratios on the surface morphology of PEEK was quantitatively investigated, so as to obtain an optimal mixed acid of nitric acid and concentrated sulfuric acid with a volume ratio that could create a multilevel porous structure. Based on this, chemical grafting of ethylenediamine was conducted to achieve amination on the surface of the PEEK. The results showed that such double modification of the surface structure and chemical state could endow PEEK not only with antimicrobial activity but also with good hydrophilicity, cell compatibility, and bioactivity, which were beneficial to improve the bone integration ability of PEEK greatly.

Regulation of surface micro/nano structure and composition of polyetheretherketone and their influence on the behavior of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts.

The bio-inertness and inferior osseointegration of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) affect its long-term lifetime in clinical applications, and appropriate surface modification is an effective way to enhance osseointegration of PEEK implants. In the present study, a strategy of combining sulfonation with alkali treatment was proposed to endow PEEK with rapid apatite deposition and thus enhanced bioactivity. After 3 min of sulfonation with 98% H2SO4, the sample (PEEK-S-3) showed an optimized surface microporous network and obviously improved hydrophilicity. Its contact angle reduced from the original 106 ± 2.3° to 88 ± 4.0°. After a further 24 h of NaOH treatment on PEEK-S-3, Na element was introduced into the obtained sample (PEEK-Na-24), which had a similar surface morphology and chemical structure with PEEK-S-3 and had a further reduced contact angle (77.9 ± 2.9°). The in vitro bioactivity tests showed that after only 3 days of immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF), PEEK-Na-24 was fully covered with a layer of uniform bone-like apatite. The apatite deposition sharply decreased the contact angle of the sample (PEEK-HA) to 16.6 ± 2.6° and increased its surface roughness to 1.05 ± 0.27 μm, leading to the enhanced adsorption of serum proteins on PEEK-HA. The in vitro cell culture indicated that all the three surface-modified samples (PEEK-S-3, PEEK-Na-24 and PEEK-HA) could promote the adhesion, spreading, proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts, and PEEK-HA presented the best effect. Thus, the surface bioactive PEEK resulting from the optimized surface modification, i.e. combination of sulfonation, alkali treatment and biomimetic apatite deposition, could have good potential in clinical application.

Production and sulfonation of bioactive polyetheretherketone foam for bone substitute applications

In this study, highly porous polyetheretherketone (PEEK) foams were produced by space holder-powder sintering method for bone substitute material and load-bearing orthopaedic hard tissue (knee, hip or spinal) implant applications. NaCl and carbamide powders were used as a space holder (pore former). PEEK has good chemical resistance, radiolucency, sterilization resistance, and mechanical properties close to bone. However, chemical and biological inertness and hydrophobic surface nature of the PEEK limits the bone attachment. Open pores can provide channels for the bone attachment and body fluid transmission, which is beneficial for implant fixation. In addition, sulfonation surface treatment was carried out in sulfuric acid to enhance the bioactivity. Wettability (contact angle) of the samples was investigated by using optical tensiometer. Wetting behaviour of the samples was increased with sulfonation. Apatite-forming ability (bioactivity) of the sulfonated samples was evaluated in simulated body fluid. Sulfonated foams were exhibited improved bioactivity due to the micro-porous surface structure and hydrophilic SO3H functional groups. Mechanical properties of the foams were also studied.

Dual Ag/ZnO-Decorated Micro-/Nanoporous Sulfonated Polyetheretherketone with Superior Antibacterial Capability and Biocompatibility via Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembly Strategy.

Polyetheretherketone is attractive for dental and orthopedic applications due to its mechanical attributes close to that of human bone; however, the lack of antibacterial capability and bioactivity of polyetheretherketone has substantially impeded its clinical applications. Here, a dual therapy implant coating is developed on the 3D micro-/nanoporous sulfonated polyetheretherketone via layer-by-layer self-assembly of Ag ions and Zn ions. Material characterization studies have indicated that nanoparticles consisting of elemental Ag and ZnO are uniformly incorporated on the porous sulfonated polyetheretherketone surface. The antibacterial assays demonstrate that Ag-decorated sulfonated polyetheretherketone and Ag/ZnO-codecorated sulfonated polyetheretherketone effectively inhibit the reproduction of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Owing to the coordination of micro-/nanoscale topological cues and Zn induction, the Ag/ZnO-codecorated sulfonated polyetheretherketone substrates are found to enhance biocompatibility (cell viability, spreading, and proliferation), and hasten osteodifferentiation and -maturation (alkaline phosphate activity (ALP) production, and osteogenesis-related genetic expression), compared with the Ag-decorated sulfonated polyetheretherketone and the ZnO-decorated sulfonated polyetheretherketone counterparts. The dual therapy Ag/ZnO-codecorated sulfonated polyetheretherketone has an appealing bacteriostatic performance and osteogenic differentiation potential, showing great potential for dental and orthopedic implants.

In vivo experimental study of anterior cervical fusion using bioactive polyetheretherketone in a canine model.

BackgroundPolyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a widely accepted biomaterial, especially in the field of spinal surgery. However, PEEK is not able to directly integrate with bone tissue, due to its bioinertness. To overcome this drawback, various studies have described surface coating approaches aimed at increasing the bioactivity of PEEK surfaces. Among those, it has been shown that the recently developed sol-gel TiO2 coating could provide PEEK with the ability to bond with bone tissue in vivo without the use of a bone graft.ObjectiveThis in vivo experimental study using a canine model determined the efficacy of bioactive TiO2-coated PEEK for anterior cervical fusion.MethodsSol-gel–derived TiO2 coating, which involves sandblasting and acid treatment, was used to give PEEK bone-bonding ability. The cervical interbody spacer, which was designed to fit the disc space of a beagle, was fabricated using bioactive TiO2-coated PEEK. Both uncoated PEEK (control) and TiO2-coated PEEK spacers were implanted into the cervical intervertebral space of beagles (n = 5 for each type). After the 3-month survival period, interbody fusion success was evaluated based on μ-CT imaging, histology, and manual palpation analyses.ResultsManual palpation analyses indicated a 60% (3/5 cases) fusion (no gap between bone and implants) rate for the TiO2-coated PEEK group, indicating clear advantage over the 0% (0/5 cases) fusion rate for the uncoated PEEK group. The bony fusion rate of the TiO2-coated PEEK group was 40% according to μCT imaging; however, it was 0% of for the uncoated PEEK group. Additionally, the bone–implant contact ratio calculated using histomorphometry demonstrated a better contact ratio for the TiO2-coated PEEK group than for the uncoated PEEK group (mean, 32.6% vs 3.2%; p = 0.017).ConclusionsThe TiO2-coated bioactive PEEK implant demonstrated better fusion rates and bone-bonding ability than did the uncoated PEEK implant in the canine anterior cervical fusion model. Bioactive PEEK, which has bone-bonding ability, could contribute to further improvements in clinical outcomes for spinal interbody fusion.

Layer-by-layer self-assembled multilayers on PEEK implants improve osseointegration in an osteoporosis rabbit model

This study aims to fabricate and deposit nanoscale multilayers on polyetheretherketone (PEEK) to improve cell adhesion and osseointegration. Bio-activated PEEK constructs were designed with prepared surface of different layers of polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) and polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH) multilayers. Irregular morphology was found on the 5 and 10-layer PEEK surfaces, while “island-like” clusters were observed for 20-layer (20 L) multilayers. Besides, the 20 L PEEK showed more hydrophilic feature than native PEEK, and the surface contact angle reduced from 39.7° to 21.7° as layers increased from 5 to 20. In vitro, modified PEEK allowed excellent adhesion and proliferation of bone marrow stromal cells, and induced higher cell growth rate and alkaline phosphatase level. In vivo, this bio-active PEEK exhibited significantly enhanced integration with bone tissue in an osteoporosis rabbit model. This work highlights layer-by-layer self-assembly as a practical method to construct bio-active PEEK implants for enhanced osseointegration.

Development of Bioactive PEEK by the Function of Apatite Nuclei

Micropores were formed on the surface of a polyetheretherketone (PEEK) by soaking in sulfuric acid. In order to provide bioactivity to PEEK, the surfaces of the specimens were treated with glow-discharge in O2 atmosphere and Apatite Nucleus (AN) was precipitated in the pores. The bioactivity of the specimens was evaluated by using SBF and adhesive strength of formed apatite layer was measured.

Preparation Methods for Improving PEEK’s Bioactivity for Orthopedic and Dental Application: A Review

There is an increased interest in the use of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) for orthopedic and dental implant applications due to its elastic modulus close to that of bone, biocompatibility, and its radiolucent properties. However, PEEK is still categorized as bioinert due to its low integration with surrounding tissues. Many studies have reported on methods to increase the bioactivity of PEEK, but there is still one-preparation method for preparing bioactive PEEK implant where the produced implant with desirable mechanical and bioactivity properties is required. The aim of this review is to present the progress of the preparation methods for improvement of the bioactivity of PEEK and to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the existing methods.

Augmenting the bioactivity of polyetheretherketone

Background Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) may be advantageous as an alternative material to metal alloys in some orthopaedic applications. However, it is bioinert and does not osseointegrate1. A novel accelerated neutral atom beam technique (ANAB) has been developed to improve the bioactivity of PEEK where the surface is modified to a depth of 5 nm without affecting the integrity of the underlying PEEK structure2. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the growth of human Mesenchymal Stem Cells (hMSCs), adult human Osteoblasts (hOB) and skin Fibroblasts (BR3G) on PEEK and ANAB treated PEEK. Materials and Methods The surface properties of PEEK and ANAB PEEK were characterized by measuring surface roughness and contact angle. Cells were seeded at a density of 10,000/cm2 on PEEK, ANAB PEEK and a Thermonox control. Cell proliferation, attachment, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity on these surfaces was quantified at 7 and 14 days (n = 2). Cell attachment was measured by staining adhesion plaques with anti-vinculin and counting the number of plaques in cells at day 3. As the data was non parametric a Mann Whitney-U test was used to compare groups where p values Results ANAB treatment increased the hydrophilicity of the PEEK surface (91.74 ± 4.80° (PEEK) vs 74.82 ± 2.70° (ANAB PEEK), P Conclusion ANAB increased the bioactivity and enhanced the differentiation of osteoblasts on PEEK. This method may improve the osseointegration of PEEK implants. Acknowledgements ORUK Exogenesis

A novel bioactive PEEK/HA composite with controlled 3D interconnected HA network

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a high-performance thermoplastic biomaterial which is currently used in a variety of biomedical orthopaedic applications. It has comparable tensile and compressive strength to cortical bone with favourable biocompatibility. However, natural grade PEEK-OPTIMA has shown insufficient bioactivity and limited bone integration. Bioactive PEEK composites (e.g., PEEK/calcium phosphates or Bioglass) and porous PEEK have been used to improve bone-implant interface of PEEK-based devices, but the bioactive phase distribution or porosity control is poor. In this paper, a novel method is developed to fabricate a bioactive PEEK/hydroxyapatite (PEEK/HA) composite with a unique configuration in which the HA (bioactive phase) distribution is computer-controlled within a PEEK matrix. This novel process results in complete interconnectivity of the HA network within a composite material, representing a superior advantage over alternative forms of product. The technique combines extrusion freeforming, a type of additive manufacturing (AM), and compression moulding. Compression moulding parameters, including pressure, temperature, dwelling time, and loading method together with HA microstructure were optimized by experimentation for successful biocomposite production. PEEK/HA composites with a range of HA were produced using static pressure loading to minimise air entrapment within PEEK matrix. In addition, the technique can also be employed to produce porous PEEK structures with controlled pore size and distribution.

Bio-Activation of Polyether Ether Ketone Using Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation: A Kinetic Model

Plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is used in this study to improve the surface bioactivity of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) by modifying the chemical structure and introducing radicals. The kinetic properties of the treated surface are characterised here, allowing for tuning of the PIII process in order to produce PEEK with optimised bioactivity. The optimum PIII ion fluence for PEEK is determined to be 1 × 1016 ions/cm2. A model is proposed that accounts for the decay of radicals, nitrogen loss, oxygen incorporation and changes in surface energy within the structure. The model is based on the premise that there is a distribution of local chemical environments produced by PIII. The distribution of chemical environments results in a bioactive surface that has a long shelf life, compatible with clinical needs.

Effects of the mold temperature on the mechanical properties and crystallinity of hydroxyapatite whisker‐reinforced polyetheretherketone scaffolds

Porous and bioactive polyetheretherketone (PEEK) scaffolds have potential to replace metallic scaffolds for biologic fixation of permanent implants adjacent to trabecular bone, such as interbody spinal fusion devices. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the mold temperature and PEEK powder on the mechanical properties and crystallinity of hydroxyapatite (HA) whisker-reinforced PEEK scaffolds prepared using compression molding and porogen leaching. Scaffolds were prepared at mold temperatures ranging 340-390°C with a 50 or 10 μm PEEK powder, 75 vol% porosity, and 20 vol% HA whiskers. Scaffold mechanical properties were evaluated in unconfined, uniaxial compression and the PEEK matrix crystallinity was measured using specular reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Increased mold temperature resulted in increased compressive modulus, yield strength, and yield strain, reaching a plateau at ~370°C. HA reinforcements were observed to be segregated between PEEK particles, which inhibited PEEK particle coalescence during compression molding at temperatures less than 365°C but also ensured that bioactive HA reinforcements were exposed on scaffold strut surfaces. Increased mold temperature also resulted in decreased PEEK crystallinity, particularly for scaffolds molded at greater than 375°C. The PEEK powder size exhibited relatively minor effects on the scaffold mechanical properties and PEEK crystallinity. Therefore, the results of this study suggested that HA-reinforced PEEK scaffolds should be compression molded at 370-375°C. The apparent compressive modulus, yield strength, and yield strain for scaffolds molded at 370-375°C was 75-92 MPa, 2.0-2.2 MPa, and 2.5-3.6%, respectively, which was within the range exhibited by human vertebral trabecular bone.

Nucleation and growth of apatite on NaOH-treated PEEK, HDPE and UHMWPE for artificial cornea materials

The skirt of an artificial cornea must integrate the implant to the host sclera, a major failure of present devices. Thus, it is highly desirable to encourage the metabolic activity of the cornea by using more bioactive, flexible skirt materials. Here we describe attempts to increase the bioactivity of polyether ether ketone (PEEK), high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) films. The effectiveness of different strength NaOH pre-treatments to initiate apatite deposition on PEEK, HDPE and UHMWPE is investigated. We find that exposure of PEEK, HDPE and UHMWPE films to NaOH solutions induces the formation of potential nuclei for apatite (calcium phosphate), from which the growth of an apatite coating is stimulated when subsequently immersing the polymer films in 1.5 strength Simulated Body Fluid (SBF). As immersion time in SBF increases, further nucleation and growth produces a thicker and more compact apatite coating that can be expected to be highly bioactive. Interestingly, the apatite growth is found to also be dependent on both the concentration of NaOH solution and the structure of the polymer surface.

Electrophoretic deposition of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and PEEK/Bioglass® coatings on NiTi shape memory alloy wires

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and PEEK/Bioglass® coatings were produced on shape memory alloy (NiTi, Nitinol®) wires using electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Best results were achieved with suspensions of PEEK powders in ethanol in the range (1–6 wt%), using a deposition time of 5 minutes and applied voltage of 20 Volts. EPD using these parameters led to high quality PEEK coatings with a homogeneous microstructure along the wire length and a uniform thickness of up to 15 μm without development of cracks or the presence of large voids. Suspensions of PEEK powders in ethanol with addition of Bioglass® particles (0.5–2 wt%) (size < 5 μm) were used to produce PEEK/Bioglass® coatings. Sintering was carried out as a post EPD process in order to densify the coatings and to improve the adhesion of the coatings to the substrate. The sintering temperature was 340 °C, sintering time 20 min and heating rate 300 °C/h. Sintering led to uniform and dense PEEK and PEEK/Bioglass® coatings without any cracks. The bioactive behaviour of PEEK/Bioglass® composite coatings was investigated by immersion in acellular simulated body fluid (SBF) for up to two weeks. As expected, hydroxyapatite crystals formed on the surface of the coated wires after 1 week in SBF, confirming the bioactive character of the coatings. The results have demonstrated for the first time that EPD is a very convenient method to obtain homogeneous and uniform bioactive PEEK and PEEK/Bioglass® coatings on Nitinol® wires for biomedical applications.