Developments in the field of plasma-sprayed biomedical coatings are presented in this paper. Plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite (HA)/Ti composite coatings were fabricated to enhance the bonding strength between coating and the Ti-6Al-4V substrate and the issue of bioactivity and biocompatibility were addressed. The Ti coating possesses high mechanical strength as wen as excellent biocompatibility, but has no bioactivity. A NaOH solution was used to treat the Ti coating and bioactivity of Ti coating was achieved. A new biomedical coating, wollastonite coating, has been fabricated successfully via plasma spraying as well. A simulated body fluid (SBF) test gave the testimony of excellent bioactivity for the coating.

Keywords: biomedical coating, plasma spray, HA, Ti, Wollastonite.