Ti based coatings and their application fields on PEEK polymeric substrate

Recent studies showed that age related deterioration and increases in accidental injuries have resulted in a sharp increase in many diseases related to the bone and joint system, including fracture, vertebral degeneration, arthritis, bone tumors and tuberculosis. In such cases, the main method which was used in orthopedic surgery is restoring the structure and function of damaged bones and joints by using implant materials. Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a semi-cyristal high-performance thermoplastic polymeric implant material which emerged as an alternative for metallic implants that used in orthopedic surgery. PEEK has some superior properties such as; high melting point, superb wear resistance and fatigue behavior, transparent to X-ray, non-toxic for bone tissue and elasticity modulus similar to human bone. In addition to these superior properties, PEEK has a disadvantage. PEEK is biologically inert and has low bioactivity. Because of that reason, after the implantation of PEEK materials some problems emerges such as low bonding strength between tissue and implant. In this regard, improving bioactivity of PEEK implant materials has a huge effect in the usability of this material. In this thesis study, in order to increase surface bioactivity of PEEK biomaterials, Titanium (Ti), Titaniumdioxide (TiO2) and Hydroxyapatite (HA) powders coated on PEEK samples by using Atmospheric Plasma Spray (APS) method. Structural characterization of coated samples was determined by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and surface roughness values were obtained by profilometer. In addition to that, EDS, XRD and FT-IR analyzes were performed for the chemical characterization of the coated samples. Finally, coated and uncoated samples were subjected to in vitro testing. As a result of this study, coating formations that increase the bioactivity of PEEK implant materials and improve bone bonding ability have been produced.