On the feasibility of phosphate glass and hydroxyapatite engineered coating on titanium

In this report, bioactive calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings were produced on titanium (Ti) by using phosphate-based glass (P-glass) and hydroxyapatite (HA), and their feasibility for hard tissue applications was addressed in vitro. P-glass and HA composite slurries were coated on Ti under mild heat treatment conditions to form a porous thick layer, and then the micropores were filled in with an HA sol-gel precursor to produce a dense layer. The resultant coating product was composed of HA and calcium phosphate glass ceramics, such as tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and calcium pyrophosphate (CPP). The coating layer had a thickness of approximately 30-40 microm and adhered to the Ti substrate tightly. The adhesion strength of the coating layer on Ti was as high as 30-33 MPa. The human osteoblastic cells cultured on the coatings produced by the combined method attached and proliferated favorably. Moreover, the cells on the coatings expressed significantly higher alkaline phosphatase activity than those on pure Ti, suggesting the stimulation of the osteoblastic activity on the coatings. On the basis of these observations, the engineered CaP coating layer is considered to be potentially applicable as a hard tissue-coating system on Ti-based implants.