Preparation of artificial canine femoral stem with HA-Ti ladder-type coating on plasma-sprayed pure Ti substrate and its performance evaluation

► In this study, the composite HA-Ti ladder-type coating group of pure Ti substrate sprayed onto titanium alloy under a vacuum had a successive laminate structure, and the intergranular bond in the HA surface layer on the gradient coating was compact with high crystallinity. ► Under a vacuum, plasma-sprayed layer is characterized by higher tightness, moderate porosity, higher bonding strength to HA, and higher HA crystallinity. ► The proposed coating will provide new cementless artificial femoral stem with improved bone-prosthesis bonding capacity and enhanced stability.