STTR Phase II: Cold Gas Dynamic Spray Processing of Bioactive Nano-hydroxyapatite/Titanium Nanocomposite Coatings

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This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II Project will develop a fully integrated process for applying a well-bonded, bioactive coating to the stem of an orthopedic hip implant by a novel Cold Gas Dynamic Spray (CGDS), or Hyperkinetic Deposition process. The new process is a potential major advance in the state-of-the-art for surface modification of medical implants. The medical community hitherto has relied primarily on plasma spraying to activate implant surfaces. Plasma spraying is a cost-effective means of applying the coating material but is far from ideal. In particular, the high temperatures experienced by the hydroxyapatite feed powder during plasma spraying can seriously degrade its compositional integrity and thus its bioactive properties. The cold spray process eliminates this problem, and enables, for the first time, high-surface-area nanostructured hydroxyapatite powder to be incorporated into the implant surface withoutsacrificing its intrinsic bioactivity. As an added benefit the implant surface is left in a state of compression, which should extend the service life of the implant by eliminating the possibility of surface cracking caused by low-cycle fatigue.The commercial applications for this project will be to improve the life of implants.