ELECTROCHEMICAL DEPOSITION OF SELF-ASSEMBLED MONOLAYERS AND CALCIUM PHOSPHATE ON ORTHOPEDIC AND DENTAL IMPLANTS MADE OF TITANIUM AND ITS ALLOYS

Calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings are commonly used for implant fixation. The most commonly used method for producing coatings nowadays is plasma spraying, however electrodeposition of these coatings has recently been gaining momentum.

Very few studies have reported on self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) which were used as seed layers for the growth of synthetic CaP coatings on metal substrates from solutions resembling body fluids. Ordinarily, the end group of mimics the biomineralization process in vivo. Consequently, several SAMs have been studied. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, SAMs have never been studied with respect to CaP electrodeposition, which is the novelty of the present work.

Our study presents electrodeposition of CaP under near-physiological conditions on SAMs-coated titanium. We found that different SAMs-covered surfaces electrodeposited with CaP exhibit different surface morphologies, while maintaining the same phase content and level of crystallinity. The latter may have substantial influence on the performance in vivo – lower crystallinity results in higher solubility, and possibly – enhanced osseointegration on the short term. The use of different SAMs has also resulted in different adhesion strength.