Effect of wollastonite ceramics and bioactive glass on the formation of a bonelike apatite layer on a cobalt base alloy.

A biomimetic method was used to promote a bioactive surface on a cobalt base alloy (ASTM F-75). The metallic substrates were alkali treated and some of the samples were subsequently heat treated. The treated samples were immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF) on granular particles of either bioactive glass or wollastonite. For comparative purposes, no bioactive system was used in some tests. Three different methods were used for the immersion of the samples in SBF: 1) 21 days in SBF, 2) 21 days in 1.5 SBF, and 3) 7 days in SBF followed by 14 days in 1.5 SBF (re-immersion method). A bonelike apatite layer was formed on all the samples placed on wollastonite and bioactive glass particles. The morphology of the apatite layer formed by using the re-immersion method and wollastonite closely resembled the existing bioactive systems. No apatite layer was observed on the samples treated without bioactive material and soaked for 21 days in SBF or 1.5 SBF, apart from the substrates treated by using the re-immersion method. The heat treatment delayed the apatite formation in all the cases studied. Copyright 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 70A: 341-346, 2004