This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Nanostructured Carbon Nanotube / Hydroxyapatite and Carbon Nanotube / Titania (TiO2) Composite Films by Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) Metallic implants have been used for many years to repair and replace bone. More recently, studies have been directed at improving implant fixation by using physical as well as chemical methods. Calcium hydroxy phosphate (better known as hydroxyapatite, or HAP), as a deposited thin layer on titanium implants, exhibits excellent biocompatibility because of its similarity to human bone. However, HAP coatings are currently deposited by high-temperature plasma spraying techniques that result in unpredictable films consisting of undefined phases (chemical composition unknown) and undesirable thick films (causing micro-cracking). We propose using the solution-phase technique of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) to produce high-quality and reproducible coatings on titanium metal substrates. The coatings will consist of nanoparticles of hydroxyapatite (HAP), rutile and anatase forms of TiO2, and carbon nanotubes (CNT). The nanoparticles will be characterized using particle-size analysis, zeta potentiometry, BET surface-area, and spectroscopic techniques. The composite coatings that will be produced consist of HAP/CNT, rutile/CNT, anatase/CNT, and HAP/TiO2/CNT. These coatings will be examined using Raman spectroscopy, FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
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