Biomimetic Coating of a Titanium Substrate with Silicon-Substituted Hydroxyapatite

Abstract

Silicon-substituted hydroxyapatite (Si-HA) materials have been synthesized from a model SBF solution with different concentrations of silicon ions. All of the samples prepared from an extracellular fluid solution at different concentrations of silicate ions have been shown to be single-phase and consist of hydroxyapatite. The nature of the silicon-containing reagent (Na₂SiO₃ or tetraethyl orthosilicate) has no effect on the structure of hydroxyapatite. Analysis of silicon-modified phosphate coatings on titanium substrates indicates that more complete Si-HA deposition occurs on etched samples during the first three days of holding in the model solution. After exposure of Si-HA-coated titanium substrates to a high-power ion beam, further crystal growth and surface regeneration are possible.