title: Bioactivation of a cobalt alloy by coating with wollastonite during investment casting.
abstract: Cobalt alloy samples were bioactivated during investment casting. The cavities of the investment mold were previously coated with wollastonite. Additionally, before coating with wollastonite, some mold cavities were filled out with graphite rods to avoid a chemical reaction between the wollastonite powder and the investment material. Half of the cast samples were heat treated at 1220 degrees C for 1 h. To perform the in vitro bioactivity assessment, the cast and heat-treated samples were immersed in a simulated body fluid solution (SBF) for a period of 21 days. The surface of the samples before and after immersion in SBF was characterized by SEM, EDX, and XRD analyses. During the casting, particles of pseudowollastonite were embedded on the metallic surface. After immersion of the samples in SBF, a ceramic layer was formed on both the alloy obtained by using the investment mold and the alloy obtained by using the graphite-filled cavity. The ceramic layer was thicker on the alloy cast in the investment mold. The layer was identified as hydroxyapatite by XRD analysis, in all the cases. The heat-treated samples after immersion in SBF showed the formation of a thin homogeneous layer consisting of fine grains of apatite.
authors.affiliation: Ceramics Department, Cinvestav-Unidad Saltillo, Saltillo, Coahuila 25000, México. almanza@cinvestav.edu.mx
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Almanza
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Escobedo
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ortiz
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cortés
mesh_terms: D000497:Alloys / Q000737:chemistry*; D017610:Calcium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry*; D003035:Cobalt / Q000737:chemistry*; D017640:Silicates / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys; D017610:Calcium Compounds; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; D017640:Silicates; D003035:Cobalt; C031293:calcium silicate