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Abstract: The growing evidence of the beneficial role of strontium in bone has increased the interest of developing strontium-containing biomaterials for medical applications, and specifically biocompatible coatings that can be deposited on metallic implants to benefit from their load-bearing capabilities. In this work, strontium-substituted hydroxyapatite (Sr-HA) coatings have been fabricated by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) from initial targets obtained after mixing and compacting commercial HA and SrCO3 powders in different proportions. The films thus fabricated were then structurally, morphologically and chemically characterized using scanning electron microscopy, optical profilometry, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The macroscopic morphology of the films presented in all cases equivalent spherical shaped aggregates of typical calcium phosphate coatings. The results reveal, however, the incorporation of Sr2+ and carbonate groups in the coatings as a function of the SrCO3 content in the ablation target, being the incorporation of Sr2+ a linear phenomenon that is accompanied by a similarly linear withdrawal of Ca2+. The role of Sr2+ in the modification of the HA structure and a possible mechanism of substitution of Sr2+ atoms in place of Ca2+ atoms are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Herein, we report on the micro- and nanostructure of the calcium phosphate coating produced by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), using focused ion beam (FIB) lamella sample preparation and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as the characterization technique. The initial selected area electron diffraction (SAED) data demonstrated the presence of hydroxyapatite (HA) over any other possible calcium phosphate crystalline structure and the polycrystalline nature of the coating. Moreover, the SAED analyses showed clear textured ring patterns coherent with the presence of a preferred orientation in the HA nano-crystal growth. The SAED data also indicated that the coating appears to be textured in the 〈002〉 crystalline direction. Dark-field images obtained using 002 as the working reflection showed a clear oriented crystal growth in columns, from bottom to top. These columns have a peculiar arrangement of nano-crystals since, in some cases, the preferred orientation appears to start at a certain distance from the substrate. Direct d-spacing measurements on high-resolution TEM images provided further proof of the presence of an HA nano-crystal structure. The reported data may be of interest in the future to adjust the microstructure of the HA coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]