Alternative technique for calcium phosphate coating on titanium alloy implants.

As an alternative technique for calcium phosphate coating on titanium alloys, we propose to functionalize the metal surface with anionic bath containing chlorides of palladium or silver as activators. This new deposition route has several advantages such as controlled conditions, applicability to complex shapes, no adverse effect of heating, and cost effectiveness. A mixture of hydroxyapatite and calcium phosphate hydrate is deposited on the surface of Ti-6Al-4V. Calcium phosphate coating is built faster compared with the one by Simulated Body Fluid. Cell morphology and density are comparable to the control one; and the results prove no toxic compound is released into the medium during the previous seven days of immersion. Moreover, the cell viability is comparable with cells cultivated with the virgin medium. These experimental treatments allowed producing cytocompatible materials potentially applicable to manufacture implantable devices for orthopedic and oral surgeries.