Investigating the surface modification of porous Nitinol implants

NiTi foams are unique among biocompatible porous metals because of their shape-memory or superelastic behavior, and low stiffness facilitating integration with bone structures. This article briefly reviews recent researches on Nitinol for bone replacement, with the emphasis on surface modifications designed to create bio-inert porous NiTi surfaces with low Ni release and corrosion, as well as bioactive surfaces to enhance and accelerate biological activity. In this work, hydroxyapatite and also hydroxyapatite/zirconia composite coatings on Nitinol alloy surface are investigated. It was concluded that the addition of ZrO2 could improve wear resistance of coating and subsequently the implant and also increases the bonding strength between the composite coating and the substrate

Keywords:

Nitinol , surface modification , Bioactive surfaces , Hydroxyapatite , Zirconia