functionalized and adherent biomimetic apatite coating for PEEK implants – Ca-PEEK

Medical implants replace dysfunctional or missing body parts to maintain physiological functions. The associated market is growing by 4%/year. However, the key factor restraining the market is high implant costs. In this view, PEEK and CRF-PEEK due to biocompatibility, mechanical properties similar to that of bone and radiolucency, are increasingly used instead of metals. But, these biomaterials are bionert inducing a very limited osseointegration, which is THE expectation for bone implants. Another expected properties are wear resistance, angiogenic ability and bacterio resistance. Ca-PEEK project is aiming at developing the next generation of PEEK implants that will provide answers to these expectations. For that, the PEEK surface will be modified with an adherent functionalized biomimetic apatite deposited by cold spray. The challenges are adhesion of the coating, maintaining the bioactivity of biomimetic apatite as a coating, preserving the mechanical properties of PEEK, enhancing the whole durability of the implant, and achieving multifunctionalization of the coating.