Effect of annealing titanium on in vitro bioactivity.

In order to modify titanium surfaces for various biological applications, bioactive and pure titanium oxide thin films were coated on the titanium by thermal oxidation technique. The commercially pure titanium discs after polishing were heated at 500, 550, 600, 650 and 700 degrees C, respectively, for 10 min in air or in argon. To evaluate the ability of calcium phosphate formation, samples after annealing were soaked in the Eagle's minimum essential medium solution. Surface morphology and chemical composition of the samples before or after immersion were characterized by field emission - scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry.