Abstract
Hydroxyapatite formation on the surface of materials in the body is an essential condition for demonstrating osteoconduction after implantation in bony defects. This paper reports a technique for providing hydroxyapatite formation properties to titanium metals by using specially designed surface topography followed by thermal oxidation. Two pieces of titanium thermally oxidized at 400°C were set together in a V-shape with varied mouth opening. They showed the formation of hydroxyapatite on both facing surfaces after exposure to a simulated body fluid (SBF), when the gap height was approximately less than 600 μm. Moreover, pure titanium specimens with macro-grooves less than 1000 μm in depth and 800 μm in width were able to form hydroxyapatite deposits in SBF within 604.8 ks, after they were thermally oxidized at 400°C for 3.6 ks. Hydroxyapatite also formed on the internal surfaces of macro-grooves made in Ti-15-Zr-4Ta-4Nb within 604.8 ks of soaking in SBF, after the sample was thermally oxidized at 500°C for 3.6 ks, whereas it was not deposited on alloy made of Ti-6Al-4V extra low interstitial processed in the same way. These findings indicate that titanium and its alloys can be conferred with hydroxyapatite-forming ability, i.e. osteoconduction, within a controlled spatial gap and thermal oxidation. We conclude that bioactive titanium substrate showing osteoconduction can be produced by using a specially designed surface topography followed by thermal oxidation at an appropriate temperature.
