Thin coatings medical implants

Protein Adsorption. The development of medical implant polymers has stimulated interest in the use of ATR techniques for monitoring the kinetics of adsorption of proteins involved in thrombogenesis onto polymer surfaces. Such studies employ optical accessories in which an aqueous protein solution (93) or even ex - vivo whole blood (94-%) can be flowed over the surface of the internal reflection element (IRE), which may be coated with a thin layer of the experimental polymer. Modem FT-IR spectrometers are rapid - scanning devices, and hence spectra of the protein layer adsorbed onto the IRE can be computed from a series of inteiferograms recorded continuously in time, yielding ah effective time resolution of as little as 0.8 s early in the kinetic runs. Such capability is important because of the rapid changes in the composition of the adsorbed protein layers which can occur in the first several minutes (97). 

Leon, B. and Jansen, J.A. (2009) Thin Calcium Phosphate Coatings for Medical Implants, Springer, New York. ISBN ... 

Titanium nitride (TiN) is an extremely hard ceramic material which is often used as a coating on titanium alloys, steel, carbide, and aluminum components to improve the substrate s surface properties. When applied as a thin coating, TiN is used to harden and protect cutting and sliding surfaces, for decorative purposes, and as a nontoxic exterior for medical implants [189]. 

Another approach for bioactive medical implants that has been pursued for several years is the use of hydroxyapatite thin-film coatings on load-bearing bodies [165]. For load-bearing applications, metallic alloys are commonly used, and thermal... 

Another novel membrane formation process to yield thin film coatings involves the polymerization of di-para-xylylene onto the desired substrates. This process involves subjecting di-para-xylylene (or a substituted version) to high temperature in a high-vacuum chamber. The di-para-xylylene forms a di-radical that polymerizes and uniformly coats all surfaces in the vacuum chamber. This produa/process termed Parylene has been employed commercially for over four decades to provide protective coatings for electronic devices and medical devices as well as more recendy for micropatterned surfaces in biomedical implants and biosensors. ... 

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