Electrochemical deposition of hydroxyapatite with vinyl acetate on titanium implants

A novel approach to electrochemical processing of hydroxyapatite (HA) coating was explored. Vinyl acetate was added in the electrolytes of calcium and phosphorous in order to improve the adhesion between HA coating and titanium substrate. X-ray powder diffractometer (XRD) spectra indicated that the vinyl acetate did not interfere with the deposition of HA on the surface of titanium cathodes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) results revealed that both vinyl acetate and HA were deposited on the titanium cathodes. The vinyl acetate changed the HA crystalline morphology in the deposition layer. The shape and growth direction of the HA crystals in the coating with vinyl acetate differed from those of HA deposition along. The addition of vinyl acetate increased the coating strength considerably, even though further improvement is needed for clinical applications. Moreover, a preliminary study of the bioactivity showed that osteoblastic cells exhibited higher cell proliferation potential on the HA/vinyl acetate coating than on that of pure HA.