Bioactive polymer–calcium phosphate composite coatings by electrophoretic deposition

Abstract Among the different approaches to overcome the common infections and loosening problems of orthopaedic metallic implants, the surface modification of the implant with bioactive coatings is gaining increasing attention, because the presence of a bioactive layer can enhance the bone-to-implant contact and reduce possible problems arising from infections. Furthermore, the combination of bioactive glasses (or ceramics) with biopolymers (so-called ‘soft-coatings’) leads to an improvement in the mechanical properties of the coatings, because the biopolymer acts as a glue, and therefore the sintering process that would lead to a loss in the bioactivity is avoided. A suitable technique to create these organic/inorganic composite coatings is electrophoretic deposition (EPD), which allows the co-deposition of inorganic particles with polymeric molecules and controls the thickness of the deposit by controlling the deposition voltage and time. Considering the similarities in the chemical composition of the mineral phase of the bone and calcium phosphate compounds, many different systems based on this material and in combination with biopolymers have been developed. A description on the EPD process and a compilation of these relevant systems are summarized in this chapter.