In vitro stability of a highly crystalline hydroxylapatite coating in a saturated citric acid solution.

A novel pressurized hydrothermal post-plasma-spray process has been developed to convert the crystalline non-HA and amorphous components of plasma-sprayed hydroxylapatite coatings back into crystalline HA. The process, known commercially as MP-1, was used to produce coatings comprising approximately 96% crystalline HA. The in vitro solubility of the coating in saturated citric acid solution has been measured to simulate the effect of implant detoxification procedures, which use citric acid as a cleaning medium. The MP-1 coating solubility in saturated citric acid solution (pH = 1) was compared to that of coatings with crystalline HA contents ranging from 37.5-82%. All coatings showed an initial sharp rise in coating dissolution, which correlated with crystalline HA content, followed by a steady state dissolution rate. After 60 s at 25 degrees C, the MP-1 coating showed a 65% decrease in solubility compared to a highly amorphous coating (AM-2). All coatings showed very similar steady state dissolution rates, except for AM-2, which was significantly higher. SEM analysis showed that the AM-2 coating surface was degraded substantially more than the other coatings, resulting in partial coating exfoliation. A mechanism of coating dissolution is proposed, in which the initial rapid leaching of soluble phases from the coating leaves behind a porous layer of highly crystalline HA at the coating surface. The stability of this porous crystalline layer leads to steady state, diffusion-limited dissolution of the remainder of the coating. The observed two-regime dissolution profile can be accurately represented by a 2-parameter model, which predicts the initial sharp rise in coating dissolution followed by a slower, steady state loss in coating mass. Model parameters were determined from experimental solubility data, and were shown to correlate with the percentage of crystalline HA in the coatings. The present data suggest that the treated coating is significantly more resistant to degradation from aggressive detoxification procedures such as citric acid burnishing.