Production and characterization of HA and SiHA coatings.

Plasma sprayed hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings on metallic prostheses have been used clinically in dentistry and orthopedics since the mid 1980s. The coating properties are dependent on the spraying parameters. Since silicon-substituted hydroxyapatite (SiHA) has been shown to offer improved bioactivity over phase pure HA, SiHA coatings have the potential for enhanced performance in clinical application. In this study, phase pure HA and 0.8 wt% SiHA powders were synthesized with similar particle size distribution and morphology. The powders were plasma sprayed onto Ti-6Al-4V substrates at 37 kW and 40 kW plasma gun input power respectively. Four kinds of samples were prepared, HAC 37, HAC 40, SiHAC 37 and SiHAC 40. Materials characterization showed that the coatings were of relatively high phase purity. In vitro cell culture demonstrated that human osteoblast cells grew well on all samples, with the highest cell growth observed on SiHA coatings produced under the lower plasma gun input power.