High Velocity Suspension Flame Sprayed (HVSFS) Bioactive Coatings for Biomedical Applications

Thermal spraying of suspensions containing particles of submicron or nano-size offers new possibilities in functional coating development and enables new application fields. Spraying of suspensions containing bioceramic materials by hypersonic flame spraying (HVSFS), result in coatings with a refined microstructure. A layer thickness ranging from 10 - 50 µm can be achieved. Thermally sprayed HAp coatings are widely used for various biomedical applications due to the fact that HAp is a bioactive, osteoconductive material capable of forming a direct and firm biological fixation with surrounding bone tissue.

Bioceramic coatings (e.g. Hydroxyapatite HAp, Tricalcium Phosphate TCP or Bioglass) were thermally sprayed on Ti plates by high-velocity suspension flame spraying. The deposited coatings were mechanically characterized. Phase content of the coatings were evaluated using XRD. The bond strength of the layer composites was analyzed by the pull-off method and compared for different spraying conditions.