A novel method for coating calcium phosphate with trace elements extracted from bone using electrical stimulation

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is a biomaterial used because of its high potential for improving the healing of bone fractures. HAp is typically prepared using synthetic methods. However, synthetic HAp generally does not contain trace elements, which are considered to be important factors in the healing process. Therefore, researchers have focused on developing methods for preparing biomaterials containing trace elements. A novel method for coating calcium phosphate materials with trace elements is proposed in this study. In this method, mineral components with trace elements were obtained from bone samples and coated onto the titanium surface using only electrical stimulation under constant voltage application in phosphate-buffered saline. The resulting material had poor crystallinity, which was similar to apatite structure present in bone tissue, and it contained trace elements. Calcium phosphate depositions were also constructed on the surfaces of bone and vascular specimens under the same conditions. Consequently, this method can potentially be applied as an innovative treatment for implant surfaces and in the preparation of scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.