In vitro bioactivity of aerosol-gel deposited TiO2 thin coatings

Bioactive, pure, and Ca- or P-doped TiO2 thin coatings on Ti metal and Si w afers were prepared by the aerosol-gel technique. The coatings were charact erized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, Fourie r transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Bioact ivity was determined in vitro in a simulated body fluid and was shown to be fully comparable to sol gel-derived TiO2 coatings prepared by dip-coating. However, the formation rate of carbonate containing apatite decreased with increasing dopant concentration, which was related to changes in chemical composition and topology of the coatings. (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.