Biomedical materials and techniques to improve the tribological, mechanical and biomedical properties of orthopedic implants - A review article

Recently, there has been an increasing trend in researches focusing on improving the performance of the biomedical implants. The clinicians used metallic implants to treat bone imperfections and fractures. The commonly used metals (Stainless steel, Ti-alloys and Co-alloy) failed to prove long-term durability and did not build sufficient bond with human bone. Since the invention of bioactive materials, which can generate chemical bond with bones, the researchers proposed combining the superior mechanical properties of metals and bioactivity of bioactive materials. This can be achieved by cladding bioactive material on metallic substrate. Different techniques, like thermal spraying, electron magnetron sputtering, laser cladding, etc., were proposed to successfully deposit bioactive materials on metallic substrates. In this article, we will discuss the potential of available metallic alloys and bioactive materials in biomedical implants including different techniques used in depositing bioactive materials on metallic implants.