Rapid biomimetic deposition of octacalcium phosphate coatings on zirconia ceramics (Y-TZP) for dental implant applications

Octacalcium phosphate (OCP) coatings on zirconia oral implants have a great potential to improve the osseointegration of already existing ceramic implants, owing to high osteoconductive characteristics of OCP and its possibility of use as a drug delivery system. Such OCP coatings can be prepared with a simple two-step biomimetic procedure investigated in our study. In the first step, zirconia discs were immersed into the solution with a pH 7.4 and after 1 h of soaking a thin nanostructured calcium phosphate (Ca-P) layer was precipitated on the ceramic substrate via three stages: (i) precipitation of an amorphous Ca-P; (ii) precipitation of the OCP; and (iii) the transformation of the OCP to apatite. This Ca-P layer later served as a template for the rapid deposition of a thicker OCP coating in the second step of the synthesis where the substrate was immersed into the solution with pH 7.0. The main benefits of the method are a relatively quick synthesis, simplicity and a good reproducibility. Moreover, the coatings show good tensile adhesion strength according to the tape tests (ASTM D-3359). In addition, mild physiological conditions of the synthesis may allow incorporation of biologically active molecules in the coating. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.