In vitro bioactivity of aerosol-gel deposited TiO(2) thin coatings.

Bioactive, pure, and Ca- or P-doped TiO(2) thin coatings on Ti metal and Si wafers were prepared by the aerosol-gel technique. The coatings were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Bioactivity was determined in vitro in a simulated body fluid and was shown to be fully comparable to sol gel-derived TiO(2) coatings prepared by dip-coating. However, the formation rate of carbonate containing apatite decreased with increasing dopant concentration, which was related to changes in chemical composition and topology of the coatings.