A fast biomimetic method for nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite coatings

We employed a slightly supersaturated solution (Ca/P) with an ionic composition simpler than that of simulated body fluid (SBF) to obtain a fast biomimetic coating on Ti6Al4V substrates. The results of thin film X-ray diffraction, FTIR, SEM, TEM-ED investigations indicate that hydroxyapatite (HA) nanocrystals are laid down in a few hours on the susbstrates. The amount of deposition increases with the immersion time. Furthermore, the thin layer of RA deposited after 3 h soaking in Ca/P solution acts as a catalyst for the further deposition of apatite from SBF.