Preparation of bioactive Ti6Al4V surfaces by a simple method.

Boiling diluted alkali incubation was found to be an effective way to prepare bioactive Ti6Al4V surfaces, whether polished or not, as indicated in vitro after immersion in two different supersaturated calcification solutions (SCSs). The induction of calcium phosphate (Ca-P) precipitation from the SCSs is most probably made possible by the formation of a new TiO2 surface layer and a large number of submicron-scaled etched pits therein. The morphologies and composition of the Ca-P deposited from different SCSs are entirely different from each other. The processes on Ti6Al4V surfaces during treatment and immersion were investigated in detail by means of scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction.