Application of plasma electrolytic oxidation to bioactive surface formation on titanium and its alloys

Abstract

In this work, a review of the literature concerning the surface modification of implants composed of titanium and titanium alloys by plasma electrochemical oxidation (PEO), also known as micro-arc oxidation (MAO), is presented. The application of this process allows for the formation of oxide layers with different porosities on implants. Moreover, it is possible to enrich these oxide layers with species contained in solutions used for anodising, yielding suitable surface chemical properties. Anodising titanium implants in solutions containing compounds of calcium and phosphorous leads to the formation of bioactive layers and significantly reduces the time required for the osseointegration of implant to bone. Studies of the PEO process with respect to titanium implants have been conducted by a large number of research centres, and their results have been applied to the production of a new generation of titanium implants.