An overview of sputtering hydroxyapatite for biomedical application

Materials such as biocompatible metals, ceramics, composites, and polymers are used in the fabrication of biomedical implants which are used in the human body especially for the replacement of hard tissues. However, they degrade with time since they are subjected to different mechanical conditions and long-term exposure to fluids corrosion. Therefore, to curb these limitations, the surface properties are usually coated with thin metallic and non-metallic materials. One such non-metal is Hydroxyapatite (HA) coating which has the potential of mitigating these shortcomings and it is a biocompatible and bioactive material. This paper provides an overview of the existing literature on the sputtering of hydroxyapatite coating for biomedical applications with emphasis on the deposition conditions and parameters.