Evaluation of calcium titanate as apatite growth promoter
J. Coreño, O. Coreño
Centro de Investigaciones en Materiales y Metalurgia, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Carretera
Panchuca – Tulancingo KM 4.5, Ciudad Universitaria, C. P. 42184, Pachuca de Soto, Estado de Hidalgo, Mexico
Received 9 July 2004; revised 8 April 2005; accepted 22 April 2005
Published online 8 August 2005 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/jbm.a.30447
Abstract: Calcium titanate (CaTiO3, perovskite) has been
used to determine its apatite nucleation ability and propose
a possible nucleation initial step. Measurements of calcium
leaching from the calcium titanate surface and phosphate
adsorption experiments were carried out separately by us-
ing commercial calcium titanate suspensions at room tem-
perature. Adsorption behaviour determined by ␨ potential
measurements shows that phosphate is strongly adsorbed
on the calcium titanate surface. It was found that the higher
the pH, the higher the Ca present on the calcium titanate
surface, but phosphate adsorption followed this trend only
INTRODUCTION
Titanium1 and its alloys have been successfully used
as biomaterials under load-bearing situations such as
orthopaedic or dental applications. In order to im-
prove their bone-bonding ability, various surface
modification methods have been proposed to intro-
duce bioactive ceramic coatings onto their surfaces.
Among these processes, the hydroxyapatite plasma-
spraying technique has been extensively studied.1
This technique is clinically used but can not be applied
onto complex shapes, besides control of crystallinity
and structure of the hydroxyapatite layer deposited is
difficult and adherence of the coating layer to metallic
substrate is low.2,3
To overcome these disadvantages other coating
methods, such as hydrothermal,4 sol-gel,5 or the so-
called biomimetic methods, have been proposed. Gen-
erally, these techniques involve a chemical surface
modification step, for example, ion implantation,6
aqueous alkaline treatments,7 or the self-assembly
technique,8 followed by the immersion of the piece
thus treated in a biomimetic, acellular simulated body
fluid (SBF) containing calcium and phosphate ions. In
this biomimetic solution nucleation and growth of
Correspondence to: J. Coreno; e-mail: jcoreno@uaeh.reduaeh.mx
© 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
up to pH 7.4. Results suggest that phosphate ions are not
adsorbed only on Ca sites but also on TiO2 groups sites of
the surface, formed after calcium leaching from the surface.
When both ions are simultaneously added in a modified
simulated body fluid containing calcium titanate, at 37°C,
apatite growth occurs on its surface after 1 week of immer-
sion. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 75A:
478 – 484, 2005
Key words: apatite nucleation; calcium titanate; simulated
body fluid; point of zero charge; isoelectric point
calcium phosphate apatite crystals occurs on the sur-
face of the piece.
In the case of the aqueous alkaline treatment it has
been found that during the first step a titania gel is
formed on the surface. The ability of this surface to
growth apatite when it is immersed in the SBF is
higher than the surfaces that are not treated.7 It has
been thermodynamically demonstrated that Ti pre-
treated in a NaOH solution can lead to the formation
of calcium titanate layer.9 Subsequent studies have
found that an intermediate stage on the apatite nucle-
ation on Ti and Ti alloy surfaces is the formation of a
calcium titanate layer from the titania– gel surface
once they have been immersed in the SBF solution10,11
after NaOH treatment.
On the other hand, different modifications of tita-
nium surfaces have been found to form a calcium
titanate layer on them before immersing in SBF solu-
tions. Those modified surfaces enhanced formation of
calcium phosphate or apatite in vitro.6,12,13 In spite of
these findings, it is interesting to note that formation
of calcium phosphate was not convincingly demon-
strated onto sol-gel calcium titanate coatings after a 12
weeks immersion period in SBF.14
Sol-gel prepared titania and silica15–17 have been
extensively used as substrates to explain the formation
of apatite in the surface of Ti alloys and bioglasses,
respectively, because it is known that hydrated titania
and silica groups promotes apatite growth. In this
CALCIUM TITANATE AS APATITE GROWTH PROMOTER 479

article, calcium titanate (perovskite) is used to evalu-
ate its ability to grow apatite on its surface and to
propose a possible nucleation mechanism. Results are
discussed in terms of surface chemical and physical
properties of this material. The present results could
help to understand the role of calcium titanate formed
on Ti surfaces on apatite growth.
EXPERIMENTAL
Calcium release and phosphate adsorption
CaCl2 or Na2HPO4. Finally, pH was adjusted with diluted
HNO3 or NaOH solutions and each suspension was com-
pleted to 50 mL with deionized water. A potentiometer
(Orion 720 A) equipped with a combined electrode and
automatic temperature compensation (ATC) probe was used
to monitor the pH. The potentiometer was calibrated before
each test with buffer solutions 4, 7, and 10. Before perform-
ing the ␨ potential measurements, we conditioned the sus-
pensions for 15 min.
The point of zero charge was determined adding succes-
sively small amounts of the calcium titanate to an aqueous
solution at a particular pH. The increase or decrease in pH
was measured after 1 h. If no further pH change was noted,
the system was considered to be at its p.z.c.

Calcium titanium oxide, CaTiO3, powder (Alfa Aesar

99⫹%, 325 mesh) was used for all the experiments. The Apatite growth in a modified SBF
X-ray diffraction pattern of this compound corresponds to
CaTiO3 perovskite (Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction
Calcium titanate (1 g) was immersed in 20 mL of a solu-
Standard, JCPDS-42-0423). Phosphate adsorption kinetics
tion containing 0.14M NaCl and 1 mM Na2HPO4 in deion-
experiments were performed by adding 2 g of the solid to 20
ized water. The suspension was stirred for 24 h at room
mL of a 1mM Na2HPO4 solution using deionized water. The
temperature. The solid was centrifuged and suspended at
resulting suspension was stirred at room temperature. Peri-
pH 7.4 in 10 mL of a solution containing 0.14M NaCl and 1
odically, samples were taken from the stirred suspension
mM Na2HPO4. These suspensions did not contain Ca be-
maintaining the initial weight-to-volume ratio. Samples
cause this ion was leached from the calcium titanate. After a
were filtered or centrifuged to measure phosphate concen-
mild stirring 24 h period at 37°C, the solid was centrifuged
tration in the liquid. Experiments to measure phosphate
and suspended three times in 10 mL of a solution containing
adsorption and calcium leaching were performed separately
0.14M NaCl, 2.5 mM CaCl2, and 1 mM Na2HPO4 in deion-
by adding 0.4 g of the powder to 15 mL of pH-buffered NaCl
ized water at pH 7.4. The suspensions were stirred for 24 h
solutions. The different solutions were prepared by using
under mild stirring. pH was adjusted with tris (hydroxy-
deionized water, buffered at the desired pH using tris (hy-
methyl aminomethane) and 0.1M HCl.
droxymethyl aminomethane) or potassium biphtalate and
Calcium titanate was not immersed initially in a SBF
0.1M HCl or NaOH, respectively. Phosphate adsorption was
containing both calcium and phosphate ions because cal-
performed in a 0.14M NaCl solution in order to prevent any
cium released from the solid could have produced calcium
possible calcium phosphate homogeneous precipitation. The
phosphate spontaneous nucleation and growth. Successive
ionic strength of the solution due to NaCl diminishes the
immersion in SBF solutions were done to restore the ions
activity ionic coefficients of calcium and phosphate ions thus
consumed during the apatite growth and avoid microorgan-
raising the solubility of the amorphous calcium phosphate
isms proliferation.
that could precipitate. An initial 1 mM Na2HPO4 concentra-
tion was used. Phosphate concentration was measured by
conventional molybdenum blue method. Calcium concen-
tration was measured by titration with ethylenediaminotet- Characterization techniques
raacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA), using eriochrome T
black indicator.
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was carried out
in a LEO EM 910 Zeiss microscope at 100 kV. ␨ potential
measurements were carried out with a Malvern Instruments
Zetasizer 3000HSA. Infrared spectrum was obtained using a
Zeta (␨) potential measurements and determination PerkinElmer Spectrum GX FT-Raman spectrometer. Sam-
of the immersion point of zero charge (p.z.c.) ples were prepared as KBr pellets.

A stock suspension of calcium titanate was prepared by

adding 1 g of this powder to 100 mL of deionized water. The
suspension was stirred for 30 min. After 20 min without
stirring the resulting suspension was separated from the
solid. One hundred milliliters of deionized water were
added again to the solid and the previous procedure was
repeated. The suspensions were put together and aged for 1
week prior to the ␨ potential measurements. Measurements
were carried out with 5 mL of the shaked stock suspension,
followed by addition of water and the necessary quantity of
the respective salt to obtain the desired concentration of
RESULTS
Phosphate adsorption and calcium release were
measured separately as a function of time and pH. As
can be seen in Figure 1, phosphate is quickly ad-
sorbed, reaching equilibrium approximately 3 h after
mild stirring at room temperature. Calcium is released
from the calcium titanate surface during the very first
480
Figure 1. Phosphate adsorbed (1 g/10 mL) and Ca released
(0.3 g/10 mL) of aqueous calcium titanate suspensions at
room temperature.
minutes of stirring. Concentration of this ion does not
change after a 24-h stirring period.
Ions specifically adsorbed on a surface are strongly
attracted on it forming a layer, called the Stern layer,
which moves with the surface. Interaction of these
ions with the surface can be determined by means of ␨
potential experiments. Adsorption of phosphate ions
on calcium titanate was studied by using this tech-
nique. ␨ potential corresponds to the potential at the
slippage plane that is commonly assumed to be lo-
cated at the outer limit of the Stern layer, and it can be
directly related to the magnitude and sign of the sur-
face charge. Figure 2 shows the variation of potential
as a function of concentration of this anion at pH 2,
where the calcium titanate surface is positively
charged. As can be seen, phosphate ions can reverse
the sign of the ␨ potential at concentrations higher
than 1 ⫻ 10⫺2 M. This means that the adsorption of
phosphate ions on the surface of calcium titanate is
influenced by forces other than the electrical potential
(specific adsorption). Results corresponding to mea-
surements of calcium titanate suspended in deionized
water and in the presence of Na2HPO4 and NaCl are
Figure 2. ␨ potential as a function of phosphate concentra-
tion at pH 2.
COREÑO AND COREÑO
Figure 3. ␨ potential as a function of pH for CaTiO3 sus-
pensions immersed in: deionized water (a), 1 mM PO4 so-
lution (b), and 1 mM PO4 ⫹ 10 mM NaCl solution (c).
observed in Figure 3. As can be seen, calcium titanate
has a negative surface at pH 7.4, according to the
electrokinetic technique used in this work [Fig. 3(a)],
because the isoelectric point (i.e.p.), ␨ ⫽ 0, is close to
pH 3. Figure 3(b) shows that the presence of phos-
phate ions increases the negative surface potential and
lowers the i.e.p. These results indicate that phosphate
ions are chemically adsorbed on the calcium titanate
surface.18 A similar trend is observed in the presence
of phosphate ions and NaCl [Fig. 3(c)].
A number of experiments were done in order to
estimate the dependence of Ca release and phosphate
adsorption as a function of pH. It was observed that
Ca is released from the calcium titanate surface in the
pH range studied. In Table I it can be seen that the
higher the pH of an aqueous calcium titanate suspen-
sion, the higher the calcium that remains on the sur-
face. On the other hand, it was observed that in the
second immersion of calcium titanate at pH 2 only a
little proportion of Ca ions is leached compared to the
amount released in the first immersion. Thus, it can be
approximately considered that all of the Ca has been
leached out from the surface after two immersions at
pH 2. Therefore, calcium at the surface is roughly
estimated subtracting the amount of Ca leached at
each pH from that leached at pH 2 after two immer-
sions. Regarding the phosphate adsorption, it in-
creases at the same time that pH does up to pH 7.4.
Above this pH its adsorption diminishes. Also, it was
noted that phosphate can be adsorbed at pH 7.2 using
a calcium titanate that is suspended twice at pH 2,
where it is presumed that Ca at this surface is negli-
gible. Ti dissolution was not detected for any of the
experiments.
Table II shows pH variation for different amounts of
solid added to deionized water along with the pH
tendency when CaTiO3 is added to deionized water or
to solutions at different initial pH (not buffered). For
all of the experiments the observed final pH is around
8.3. This value is considered as a rough estimation of
CALCIUM TITANATE AS APATITE GROWTH PROMOTER 481

TABLE I
Calcium at Surface and Phosphate Adsorption after 3 h of Immersion for a Calcium Titanate Suspension
(0.4 g/15 mL 0.14M NaCl solution, initial [PO4] ⴝ 1 mM)
Ca Leached Final [Ca] Ca at Surface Phosphate Consumed Final [PO4] Initial pH after
Experiment ⫻ 105 (mol/g) (mM) ⫻ 105 (mol/g) ⫻ 106 (mol/g) (mM) pH 3h

pH 2 12 3.2 1 — 1.93 2.11

pH 4 11 2.9 2 1.75 0.95 3.86 4.25
pH 7.4 7.2 1.9 5.8 8.15 0.78 7.0 7.5
pH 8 5.4 1.4 7.6 6.0 0.84 8.1 8.3
pH 9 1.8 0.5 11.2 7.0 0.81 9.3 9.14
pH 7.2** 13* 0 3.9 7.0 7.2
*Ca released after two immersions at pH 2.
**Experiment using 0.6g/15 mL. CaTiO3 resuspendended twice at pH 2.0 (30 mL).

the immersion point of zero charge. On the other and the apatite formed has to develop. As can be seen
hand, it was observed that calcium titanate behaves as in Figure 3, phosphate ions are chemically adsorbed
an amphoteric oxide because the final pH increases if on the calcium titanate surface because they are able to
the initial pH is less than 8.3, while the final pH shift the i.e.p. and remain adsorbed even when the
decreases if the initial pH is grater than 8.3, both in surface has a negative charge.18 Thus, the chemical
buffered (Table I) and nonbuffered (Table II) experi- bonds formed could help apatite present a good ad-
ments. hesion to the CaTiO3 surface.
In Figure 4, a TEM image of crystals formed calcium It has been proposed that the calcium titanate forms
titanate particles are observed after four 24-h immer- on the surface of a NaOH-treated Ti alloy when ex-
sion periods in the modified SBF. The diffraction pat- posed to SBF10,11 as a consequence of the electrostactic
terns corresponding to the (300), (222), and (421) interaction between the positive Ca ions in the solu-
planes of crystalline apatite are shown. Figure 5 shows tion and the negative titania gel developed on the
the FTIR spectrum of the solid immersed four times in alloy surface after the alkaline treatment. This calcium
SBF. Two noticeable bands attributed to the Ti-O vi- titanate layer is suggested to promote apatite nucle-
bration are observed at 455 and 580 cm⫺1. Due to the ation because it gains a positive charge where phos-
small proportion of crystals formed, only the most phate anions can be attached, thus forming nuclei for
intense band at 1036 cm⫺1 ascribed to a phosphate apatite growth.9 –11 On the other hand, it has been
vibration19 was detected. Finally, the crystals formed found that Ca-implanted titanium shows improved
are assumed to be apatite because it is the calcium calcium phosphate precipitation and bone conductiv-
phosphate phase thermodynamically favored at the ity when compared to titanium. This surface consists
pH and temperature conditions of our experiments. of calcium titanate and it is proposed to be more
positively charged than titanium in bioliquid, thus
facilitating the adsorption of phosphate ions. Besides,
calcium ions dissolve from the surface and help to
DISCUSSION
supersaturate the bioliquid near the surface causing
calcium phosphate precipitation.6 Ca dissolution has
A very important desirable characteristic that bio- also been proposed in other surfaces where calcium
active materials for osteointegration must show is that titanate was formed before immersing in SBF solu-
a very strong bonding between the substrate surface tions.12,13
␨ potential experiments (Fig. 3) show that calcium
TABLE II titanate surface is negative at pH 7.4. However, this
pH Variation for CaTiO3 Suspensions over Time for a negative charge could be apparent. The i.e.p. of Ba-
Suspension with Successive Additions of the Solid (exp. TiO3 has been matter of debate for some years. Re-
1) and for the Same Amount of the Solid at Different
cently Paik and Hackley have reported i.e.p. values
Initial pH (exps. 2, 3, and 4)
ranging from 10.8, for a BaTiO3 suspension containing
Time (h) 0 1.0 2.0a 7.0b 22.0 5% of solids, to 3.6 for a 0.005% suspension.20 In the
pH (exp. 1) 6.9 8.5 8.3 8.2 8.2
present work we used a 5% solids concentration in the
Time (h) 0 3.5 7.0 20.0 28
pH (exp. 2) 3.9 8.0 8.1 8.0 8.3 first immersion step of the apatite growth experi-
pH (exp. 3) 9.8 8.3 8.2 7.9 8.2 ments, while in the ␨ potential experiments a much
pH (exp. 4) 6.9 8.5 8.1 8.0 8.3 lower solid concentration was used. Paik and Hackley
Exp. 1: Initial CaTiO3 concentration: 0.05 g/20 mL. a, b proposed that low particle concentration, produced a
addition of 0.05 g of CaTiO3 at 2 and 7 hours, respectively. low i.e.p., close to that of TiO2, due to the formation of
Exp. 2, 3, and 4: Experiments using 0.5 g CaTiO3/20 mL. a surface rich in acidic TiO2 sites. This layer forms as
482 COREÑO AND COREÑO

Figure 4. TEM photograph of apatite crystals grown on CaTiO3 particles after four 24-h periods of immersion in a modified
SBF.

a consequence of Ba leaching. On the other hand, it
has been reported that CaTiO3 in contact with water
develops an amorphous Ti-O layer depleted in Ca
depending on temperature, pH, and Ca concentra-
tion.21
In Table I it can be observed that calcium is leached
from calcium titanate at room temperature as a func-
tion of pH. As a result, a surface layer containing an
amount of Ca lower than the original is formed, ac-
cording to the next equations:
⫺ counter ions occurs on the oxide. The specific adsorp-
CaTiO 3(s) ⫹ H 2O 3 Ca (aq)
2⫹
⫹ TiO 2(s) ⫹ 2HO (aq) (1)
This reaction would explain the increase in pH ob-
served in Table I.
Calcium titanate is a mixed oxide.22 It is possible that
in an aqueous suspension it behaves as an insoluble
oxide, TiO2, and as a partially soluble inorganic salt,
CaO, such as it has been proposed for BaTiO3.23 At pH
7.4 the TiO2 sites formed would show a net negative
charge because TiO2 has an i.e.p. around pH 5.24
The approximate point of zero charge determined in
this work (pH ⫽ 8.3) according to the rapid method of
Bérubé and De Bruyn25 is close to the one reported for
perovskite (8.1).6 The i.e.p. is the pH at which the
charge on the solid arising from all sources is zero.
P.z.c. equals the i.e.p. if no specific adsorption of
tion of cations raises the i.e.p., while adsorption of
anions lowers it.26 According to Table I, approxi-
mately 55% of Ca is released from CaTiO3 at pH 7.4. If
the remainder Ca ions were specifically adsorbed, the
i.e.p. would be higher than 8.3.

Figure 5. FTIR spectrum from the calcium titanate immersed four times in a modified SBF.
CALCIUM TITANATE AS APATITE GROWTH PROMOTER
At this point it is interesting to analyze the possibilities
that the CaTiO3 surface might be either positive or neg-
ative. It has been observed that a negatively charged
surface at pH 7.4 is a common factor for materials to
induce apatite nucleation.15,27,28 If there are more nega-
tive sites at the calcium titanate surface than positive
ones, a net negative surface would develop. This would
be in accordance with the above-mentioned observa-
tions. On the contrary, if calcium titanate had a posi-
tively charged surface at pH 7.4, as has been proposed
for the amorphous calcium titanate formed on Ti surfac-
es,10,11,28 it would mean that positive surfaces could be
able to nucleate apatite. This fact is important to notice
because it has been suggested that alumina, which has
an i.e.p. around pH 9.0, is not a good substrate for apatite
nucleation on its surface because it is positively charged
at pH 7.4.13,26,27 However, this might not be the direct
reason to explain that observations, but the surface to-
pography, as has been proposed in the case of some
titania and silica surfaces.29 –31
As can be seen in Table I, the higher the calcium
present at the surface, the higher the phosphate ad-
sorption up to pH 7.4. It would be expected that the
sites for binding of phosphate anions are the calcium
atoms on the surface, as has been proposed for TiO2.32
It seems that only some Ca sites are available for
phosphate adsorption because the maximum amount
of phosphate adsorbed (pH 7.4) is approximately six
times lesser than the amount of Ca ions that remains at
the surface at this pH. At this point, it is interesting to
note that it has been reported that Ca is incorporated
on the surface of an amorphous calcium titanate
within 0.5 h after its immersion in SBF, while phos-
phate does within 72 h.11 In this work phosphate
uptake occurred immediately in the presence of cal-
cium titanate. It means that maybe some kind of sur-
face characteristic should be present in order to trigger
phosphate adsorption such as a minimum surface cal-
cium or TiOH groups concentration, certain surface
charge value, or some type of structural arrangement.
On the other hand, it is possible that TiO2 sites
present in the calcium titanate surface after Ca leach-
ing can also act as binding sites for phosphate anions.
From Figure 3 it can be seen that phosphate anions can
be adsorbed on the calcium titanate surface at low pH
values where apparently no Ca is present on the sur-
face. A similar observation was made for the CaTiO3
that has been suspended twice at pH 2 and later
resuspended at pH 7.2. In Table I it can be seen that
this surface adsorbs almost half of the phosphate that
is adsorbed when the original CaTiO3 is suspended at
pH 7.4. Phosphate adsorption on TiO2 sites has previ-
ously been reported for titania.17,33 In the case of the
amorphous calcium titanate formed when immersed
in SBF, it is possible that phosphate ions can be ad-
sorbed on TiO sites once appropriate conditions, as
the above mentioned, are created.
483
Low phosphate adsorption below pH 4 can be due
to the low Ca concentration at the surface. At pH 2
there is approximately 7.7% of the original Ca at the
surface, while at pH 4 this value is 15%. However,
calcium titanate treated twice at pH 2 and later resus-
pended at pH 7.2 shows higher phosphate consump-
tion than the observed for the experiments at pH 2 and
4. In that surface it is considered that all of the surface
calcium has been released (Table I). These observa-
tions could be explained taking into account that, be-
sides the amount of calcium at the surface, phosphate
adsorption may also be due to the phosphate species
present at low pH. It is possible that H2PO4⫺ adsorp-
tion is lower than adsorption of HPO4⫽, which is the
predominant anion between pH 7.3 and pH 9. The
adsorption of this anion is proposed as part of the
compositional structure to explain the calcium phos-
phate uptake on TiO2.32 At pH values higher than 7.4
adsorption diminishes although Ca present on the
surface is higher than at pH 7.4. This fact could be due
to an increase of the electrostatic repulsion between
the surface and the present phosphate species.
According to the previous discussion, a possible
mechanism for apatite nucleation on crystalline calcium
titanate could be as follows: Calcium titanate slightly
dissolves in water releasing some of the Ca ions of the
surface, thus forming a surface richer in TiO2 than the
original, which could then transform into TiOH groups.
Then, some of the calcium ions could be re-adsorbed at
the surface. Phosphate could be adsorbed both on some
of the remaining or re-adsorbed Ca on the surface along
with the TiOH groups. On the other hand, as can be seen
in Eq. (1), calcium titanate dissolution raises OH⫺ and
Ca2⫹ concentrations, thus helping to supersaturate the
solution near the vicinity of the solid for calcium phos-
phate precipitation. A similar mechanism could happen
in surfaces where calcium titanate has been formed pre-
vious its immersion in SBF.
In accordance with the presented results it seems that the
calcium titanate used in this work is a good substrate for
apatite nucleation and growth. However, apatite growth
on sol-gel calcium titanate coatings has not been fully dem-
onstrated previously.14 Manso and colleagues reported that
this surface developed Ca and P nucleation according to
SEM and EDX evidences, but the formation of calcium
phosphate phases could not be detected by using FTIR and
XRD after a 12 weeks immersion period in SBF. On the
contrary, in the present study apatite crystals were detected
after a 2-week immersion period in a modified SBF. Differ-
ences in apatite growth ability in this case could be due to
different surface structural arrangements of the nucleation
sites, but also to the surface topography, as has been pro-
posed to explain differences on apatite nucleation ability for
other substrates.26,27
As in the case of calcium titanate, for silica and
titania it has also been reported that some times these
substrates do not nucleate apatite on its surface. This
484
would imply that the design of an appropriate bioac-
tive ceramic surface should consider not only the
chemical aspects of the surface but also the structural
or topographical characteristics.
CONCLUSIONS
Calcium titanate, perovskite, seems a good sub-
strate for apatite growth. Results indicate that the
surface releases some Ca ions, thus forming a surface
richer in TiO2 than the original, which would in turn
transform into TiOH groups. Later, phosphate ions are
adsorbed and may be bound both to surface Ca and
TiOH sites. It seems that only certain surface sites are
available for phosphate adsorption. When immersed
in aqueous suspension calcium titanate slightly dis-
solves, pH raises and Ca is leached, thus promoting
apatite nucleation on its surface.
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