Deposition of Hydroxyapatite Onto Superelastic Nitinol Using an Ambient Temperature Blast Coating Process

This work investigates the deposition of hydroxyapatite (HA) onto superelastic nickel-titanium (NiTi) using an ambient temperature coating process known as CoBlast. The process utilises a stream of abrasive alumina (Al₂O₃) and a coating medium (HA) sprayed simultaneously at the surface of the substrate. The use of traditional coatings methods, such as plasma spray, is unsuitable due to the high temperatures of the process. This can result in changes to both the crystallinity of the HA and properties of the thermally sensitive NiTi. HA is a biocompatible, biodegradable and osteoconductive ceramic, which when used as a coating can promote bone growth and prevent the release of nickel from NiTi in vivo. Samples were coated using different blast pressures and abrasive particle sizes and were examined using a variety of techniques. The coated samples had a thin adherent coating, which increased in surface roughness and coating thickness with increasing abrasive particle size. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the process gave rise to a stress-induced martensite phase in the NiTi which may enhance mechanical properties. The study indicates that the CoBlast process can be used to deposit thin adherent coatings of HA onto the surface of superelastic NiTi.