Bioactive film used to coat polymer implants

The discovery should improve the success rate of such implants, which are often used in spinal surgeries.

The PEEK polymer used in these implants does not bond well with bone or other tissues in the body, resulting in the implant rubbing against surrounding tissues. This can lead to medical complications and additional surgeries.

‘We wanted to apply a bioactive coating that would allow the polymer implants to bond with surrounding tissues,’ said Dr Afsaneh Rabiei, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State and lead author of a paper on the research. ‘The challenge was that these coatings need to be heated to 500 degrees Celsius, but the polymer melts at 300 C. We’ve finally solved the problem.’

The first step in the new technique coats the implant with a thin film of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The second step applies a coating of hydroxyapatite, which is a calcium phosphate that bonds well with bone.