Activating titanium oxide coatings for orthopedic implants

It is believed that the excellent biological performance of a titanium implant is a result of its passivating nature, forming of a whole titanium oxide layer on the implant. There are increasing evidences that the titanium oxide layer is decisive for a good contact of an orthopedic implant to its surrounding tissue. And numerous reports reveal that the titanium oxide can be activated by chemical or physical procedures. In this article, based on the mechanisms and mode of action, they are classified into four categories, including doping of inorganic components, light exciting, interface engineering, and external electric field programming. The exploration and design on light exciting and interface engineering procedures are most worth receiving further illuminations since these kinds of processes are promising in fabrication of coatings with selective or "smart" biological activity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.