HAp coating and characterization of CoCr alloyed lattice structures manufactured by selective laser melting using the sol-gel method

Today, metallic implants are widely used in orthopedics and dentistry for the treatment of damaged tissues. However, the bonding and adaptation period of bone and implant with each other is quite long. Structural design and surface modification to be applied to the implant surface enables us to minimize this time by improving the material properties. In this study, lattice structures with superior properties that allow adhesion, proliferation and differentiation between implant and tissue were designed. Lattice structures are produced by additive manufacturing technology using CoCr alloy. In addition, HAp coating was applied to the sample surface by sol-gel method in order to increase biocompatibility and osseointegration. For the coating process, solutions at four different HAp concentrations (1%, 3%, 5%, 10%) and samples with four different lattice structure geometries were used. HAp coatability of lattice structures produced by additive manufacturing technology was investigated by SEM, EDS and FTIR analyzes. The effects of lattice structure geometry, sample production method, HAp concentration parameters on the coating morphology were investigated. The results showed that the lattice samples produced by additive manufacturing technology were successfully coated at 1%, 3%, 5% and 10% HAp concentrations.