Hydroxyapatite coated titania is used for dental and orthopedic implants. Hydroxyapatite coaled titania has superior physical and mechanical properties than bulk hydroxyapatite thus making it a better choice. However, coating hydroxyapatite by conventional techniques like plasma spray and electrophoretic deposition has many problems. Recently we have developed a novel method of coating hydroxyapatite onto nanotubular titania by pulsed electro-deposition process. The titanium substrate was first anodized at room temperature in acidified fluoride solution to obtain vertically oriented titania nanotube arrays. Anodized titania was treated in an alkaline solution at 50 deg C followed by pulsed electro-deposition of hydroxyapatite at 80 deg C. A uniform layer of strongly bonded crystalline hydroxyapatite was formed on the nanotubes. Further, heat treatment of the deposited film resulted in a higher bond strength between the hydroxyapatite and titania. Initial studies on the biocompatibility of the films showed that the hydroxyapatite is conducive for growth of osteoblasts and is biocompatible.
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