Ceramic-metal and ceramic-polymer composites prepared by a biomimetic process

A biomimetic process was developed to prepare apatite-metal and apatite-pol ymer composites. A variety of metals and organic polymers incorporated surf ace functional groups such as Si-OH, Ti-OH or Ta-OH to induce formation of a biologically active bonelike apatite by chemical treatment or physical ad sorption. Subsequent immersion in a simulated body fluid (SBF) with ion con centrations nearly equal to those of human blood plasma or 1.5 SBF led to t he formation of a dense and uniform bonelike apatite layer on the surface. Apatite-metal and apatite-polymer composites prepared in this way are belie ved to be very useful as artificial bone substitutes. (C) 1999 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd. All rights reserved.