Niobium and titanium surface modification via anodic oxidation in Ca/P containing solutions for osteogenesis

Transition metals are the materials of choice for the development of orthopaedic implants due to their biocompatibility. We focused on the surface modification of niobium and titanium through anodic oxidation to promote their osteogenic properties. Anodizing in solutions containing Ca and P allowed us to tailor the oxide morphology and chemical composition. By tuning the anodizing potential, mesoporous oxide layers with a surface chemical composition mimicking hydroxyapatite are obtained. By combining AFM, SEM and XPS we evaluated the increase in porous size and layer thickness as a function of the applied potential and correlated it to the oxide chemical composition.