title: Electrochemical activation of titanium for biomimetic coating of calcium phosphate.
abstract: This article reports an electrochemical method to activate titanium surface for biomimetic calcium phosphate (Ca-P) coatings. Titanium serving as cathode was treated in an electrochemical cell with a supersaturated calcium and phosphate solution serving as electrolyte. This treatment generated a gel-like film with thickness of about 100 nm on the titanium surface. The amorphous film was composed by calcium and phosphate ions and contained a large number of crystal nuclei of octacalcium phosphate (OCP). The effectiveness of this novel treatment was demonstrated by comparing the behavior of treated and untreated titanium when used for biomimetic coating. A uniform Ca-P coating was formed on the treated titanium after immersion for several hours in aqueous solution. This work explored a new method to activate surfaces of metal implants for osseointegration, which is considerably faster than treatments currently in use, such as alkaline treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Qiyi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Leng
mesh_terms: D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D002130:Calcium Phosphates / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D004563:Electrochemistry / Q000379:methods*; D008422:Materials Testing; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties; D014025:Titanium / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002130:Calcium Phosphates; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; C020243:calcium phosphate; D014025:Titanium