In Vitro Dissolution, Microstructural and Mechanical Characterizations of Microplasma-Sprayed Hydroxyapatite Coating

Hydroxyapatite coating was developed with high degree of crystallinity on SS316L substrate by the microplasma spraying technique. Systematic in vitro study of the coating was conducted after the immersion into the simulated body fluid for 1-14days. Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy were utilized for physicochemical and microstructural characterizations. Nanoindentation technique employed to evaluate the nanohardness and Young's modulus of the coating at a constant load of 100 mN. Further, the tribological characteristic was also examined by microscratch testing at a ramping normal load of 10-10.6N.