Coating of hydroxyapatite on porous alumina substrate through a thermal decomposition method

A thin film of hydroxyapatite (HA) was uniformly coated onto a highly porous substrate of alumina through the thermal decomposition method. Calcium 2‐ethyl hexanoate and bis(2‐ethyhexyl) phosphite were used as starting materials. Scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the chemical and structural evolution of the coating. In vitro tests were conducted to evaluate the reactivity of the synthetic HA. It was found that the sintering process greatly influenced the in vitro behavior of HA. High temperature sintering may reduce the reactivity of HA, suggesting that the reactivity is structure dependent. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res (Appl Biomater) 48: 117–120, 1999