MORE | Fall 2023

Synthesis and Processing of Hydroxyapatite Thin Films and Coatings for Translational Orthopaedic Surgical Implant Applications

There is an unmet clinical need for non-metallic, orthopedic surgical implant fixation devices. The present study focuses on the development of a calcium phosphate bioceramic, hydroxyapatite (HA) that has the desired mechanical strength to replace metal biomaterials. Among the different techniques to synthesize HA, sol-gel technology is the most versatile materials engineering process to form HA coatings on complex biomedical implant devices. In the present work, HA coatings, formed from this sol-gel process, will be further characterized using X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy and electron microscopy. The final aim is to use sol-gel to develop HA implant coatings from dip coating processes.