Mechanical Properties of Anti-Infectious, Bio-Active and Wear Resistant Ceramic Implant Surface Coatings

Abstract

Implant failure due to aseptic loosening is a major complication in total hip arthroplasty. Different implant coatings aim to reduce the risk of implant loosening by anti-infectious, bio-active or wear resistant approaches. The mechanical properties, especially bonding strength and wear resistance, of a Cu-TiO2, CaP and TiN coating were investigated in this study. A scratch test and a standard adhesive test were used to determine the bonding strength of the coatings. To analyse the wear resistance a modified special testing machine was used to evaluate wear with PU-foam and PMMA as counterparts. The investigations showed that all coatings have greater bonding strengths than the minimum required 22 N/mm2 for medical implant coatings. Significant differences in total wear were determined during the wear tests. With the exception of the CaP no removal of the coatings was detected.