A new thin film treatment, Titanium carbide (TiC) based, was developed by using Pulsed Laser Deposition ( PLD) and was demonstrated its capability to reduce significantly the time necessary to obtain a perfect osseointegration. Unfortunately PLD technology is not suitable for a real industrial production on 3D shaped substrates. This work describes the study and the results obtained in replacing PLD technology with thin film processes as Reactive Sputtering or Ion Plating Plasma Assisted both suitable for industrial applications. The energetic spectrum of condensing particles, the chemical composition and the microstructure of the films are compared. Biological effects of the TiC coating are evaluated in vitro, in cultures of osteoblastic cells grown on Titanium (Ti) or TiC coated samples, by comparing the modulation exerted on genes expressing proteins involved in bone turnover multisteps sequential regulation as chemotaxis (collagen, osteopontin, osteocalcin), mitosis (bone morphogenetic proteins-4) and differentiation (alkaline phosphatase). The results presented suggest that TiC coating obtained by Reactive Sputtering or Ion Plating Plasma Assisted is similar to that deposited by PLD and may replace this technology.
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