FABRICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HYDROXYAPATTEFORSTERITE NANOCOMIJPOSITE COATINGS FOR IBIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

Hydroxyapatite is chemically similar to the mineral component of bones. It is one of the few materials that are considered bioactive, meaning that it will support bone in growth and osseointegration when used in orthopedic and dental applications. Despite considerable bioactivity of hydroxyapatite, the poor mechanical properties have restricted the clinical applications. It is expected that the incorporation of a ceramic reinforcement with reduced grain size below 100 nm. would improve mechanical properties. In this work, hydroxyapatite-forsterite composite coatings were prepared using the sol-gel method by dipping stainless steel(316) substrate in a sol containing hydroxyapatite as a matrix with 10 wit% total amount of forsterite as reinforcement. After holding at environment temperature for 48 h, samples were placed in an oven and dried at 80C for 24 h and then, were heat treated to 600 °C with 1 °C/min. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronmicroscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX)techniques were used to investigate the structure and morphology of the coating. The crack-free and homogeneous nanocomposite coatings with no observable defects were prepared.Results suggested this composite coating might be potentially useful for biomedical applications especially as an implant coating for hard tissue treatment.

Keywords:

Nanocomposite , coating , Sol-gel method , hydroxyapatite , forsterite