Preparation and in vitro evaluation of plasma-sprayed bioactive akermanite coatings.

Bioactive ceramic coatings on titanium (Ti) alloys play an important role in orthopedic applications. In this study, akermanite (Ca(2)MgSi(2)O(7)) bioactive coatings are prepared through a plasma spraying technique. The bonding strength between the coatings and Ti-6Al-4V substrates is around 38.7-42.2 MPa, which is higher than that of plasma sprayed hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings reported previously. The prepared akermanite coatings reveal a distinct apatite-mineralization ability in simulated body fluid. Furthermore, akermanite coatings support the attachment and proliferation of rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). The proliferation rate of BMSCs on akermanite coatings is obviously higher than that on HA coatings.