Developing hydroxyapatite CAPS coatings on metallic implants for tissue replacement

Hydroxyapatite (HA) is an appropriate ceramic for artificial teeth or bones due to its excellent biocompatibility and bioactivity. Unfortunately, the mechanical properties of pure HA ceramics are poor and these make them unsuitable as high load-bearing implants. A solution to this problem is the use of HA-coated metal implants. In this project, HA powder and HA coatings on Ti-6A1-4V substrates were produced and characterized. Plasma spray and in particular the Controlled Atmosphere Plasma Spray (CAPS) system was employed to deposit HA on Ti-6A1-4V. The main focus was to study the contribution of this new technique as compared to conventional plasma spraying (Atmospheric Plasma Spraying, APS), in the production of HA coatings. Doctor of Philosophy (MPE)