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Silicon‐substituted hydroxyapatite thin films: Effect of annealing temperature on coating stability and bioactivity
Author(s) -
Thian E. S.,
Huang J.,
Best S. M.,
Barber Z. H.,
Bonfield W.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.30730
Subject(s) - materials science , annealing (glass) , crystallite , nanocrystalline material , apatite , amorphous solid , chemical engineering , coating , thin film , silicon , composite material , metallurgy , nanotechnology , crystallography , chemistry , engineering
The effect of annealing temperature on the physicochemical and biological characteristics of magnetron cosputtered silicon‐substituted hydroxyapatite (SiHA) thin coatings was studied. Annealing is required to transform as‐sputtered amorphous films into crystalline coatings. A nanocrystalline, single‐phase apatite structure was achieved for coatings heated to 600 or 700°C and, with increasing annealing temperature, the crystallite size increased. Small crystallites were found to be more soluble in the physiological environment but, at the same time, were able to induce early formation of a new apatite layer. A human osteoblast‐like (HOB) cell model was used to evaluate the performance of these annealed SiHA coatings. HOB cells attached and grew well on coatings and, after 42 days in culture, a mineralization process was observed to be taking place, with evidence of calcium phosphate minerals throughout the extracellular matrix. Our findings indicated that an annealing temperature of 600°C is sufficient to achieve crystalline SiHA coatings and exhibiting good chemical stability and bioactivity. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res, 2006