Influence of anodization in electrophoretic deposition of strontium substituted hydroxyapatite coatings

The anodization of the titanium surface is believed to assist in good adhesion strength for electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of hydroxyapatite (HAp) coatings. Different time durations are employed to attain the varying thicknesses of anodized TiO2 nanotube (ATNT) arrays. Strontium was substituted in HAp (SrHAp) to elevate the bioactivity and mechanical properties of the HAp. The surface roughness (Ra) of the coatings was increased with the increase of ATNT thickness. The HAp and SrHAp coatings exhibited average Ra values of 2.861 +/- 0.418 mu m and 2.668 +/- 0.458 mu m respectively, at 3 h anodization. Conversely, the adhesion strength of the EPD coatings decreased at 3 h of ATNT. Hence, the tailored ATNT thickness and optimized EPD parameters provide bioactive and mechanically stable coatings for efficient osseointegration.