REVIEW article
Front. Mater.
Sec. Biomaterials and Bio-Inspired Materials
This article is part of the Research TopicCorrosion and Degradation Behavior of Surface Modified BiomaterialsView all articles
Ceramic-Based Surface Treatments for Metallic Biomaterials
Provisionally accepted
- 1Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, India
- 2Department of Physical Education, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India, Phagwara, India
- 3Chandigarh University, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, India
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
ABSTRACT Ceramic-based surface treatments, including plasma spraying, sol-gel coatings, and hydroxyapatite (HAp) layers, have emerged as effective strategies for enhancing the functionality of metallic biomaterials in orthopedic and dental implants. These coatings enhance cellular adhesion, accelerate bone growth, enhance osseointegration, corrosion barriers, and wear, and help maintain the mechanical integrity of the implant during cyclic loading. Plasma spraying is currently used because it is inexpensive and can produce thick deposits, especially with HAp, which enhances implant osteoconductivity and corrosion resistance. Sol-gel techniques facilitate the deposition of a uniform, nanostructured coating at low temperature, which increases the homogeneity of the coating and bioactivity. Functionally graded finishes gradually transition in terms of composition or porosity between the metal interface and the outer surface, corresponding to the stiffness to minimize stress concentration without eliminating bioactive layers to encourage bone ingrowth. Antibacterial coatings of silver, copper, and zinc have proven effective in antimicrobial activity via a variety of mechanisms, providing extended protection against bacterial colonization of the implant surface. Despite their advantages, ceramic coatings face challenges, such as poor adhesion, delamination, and long-term durability under physiological loading. Ongoing research focuses on developing functionally graded, composite, and antibacterial coatings to improve the performance and longevity of biomedical implants. The optimization of the coating thickness, adhesion strength, and minimization of defects is crucial to maximize the protective effects and ensure the long-term success of ceramic-coated metallic implants in clinical applications.
Keywords: Ceramic Coatings, Plasma spraying, Sol-gel coatings, Hydroxyapatite (HAP), bioactive ceramics, Osseointegration, Corrosion Resistance, antibacterial coatings
Received: 02 Sep 2025; Accepted: 31 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mehta, Vasudev and Singh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hitesh Vasudev, hiteshvasudev@yahoo.in
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.