Bioceramic Coatings for Medical Implants

Reflecting the progress in recent years, this book provides in-depth information on the preparation, chemistry, and engineering of bioceramic coatings for medical implants. It is authored by two renowned experts with over 30 years of experience in industry and academia, who know the potentials and pitfalls of the techniques concerned.

Following an introduction to the principles of biocompatibility, they present the structures and properties of various bioceramics from alumina to zirconia. The main part of the work focuses on coating technologies, such as chemical vapor deposition, sol-gel deposition and thermal spraying. There then follows a discussion of the major interactions of bioceramics with bone or tissue cells, complemented by an overview of the in-vitro testing methods of the biomineralization properties of bioceramics. The text is rounded off by chapters on the functionalization of bioceramic coatings and a look at future trends.

As a result, the authors bring together all aspects of the latest techniques for designing, depositing, testing, and implementing improved and novel bioceramic coating compositions, providing a full yet concise overview for beginners and professionals.
About the Author: Robert B. Heimann is Professor (em.) of Applied Mineralogy and Materials Science, formerly at Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany. He received his scientific degrees from Freie Universität (FU) Berlin, Germany, and served as a research fellow at FU Berlin and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. In 1979, he moved to Canada and worked as a research associate at the McMaster University, was visiting professor at the University of Toronto, and held various positions as senior researcher and manager in industry and government institutions. In 1993, he became Full Professor in Freiberg. Until his retirement in 2004, Professor Heimann has authored over 280 scientific publications including several books, was board member and chair of several scientific committees, and vice president and then president of the International Council for Applied Mineralogy (ICAM). In 2001, he was honored with the Georg-Agricola-Medal of the German Mineralogical Society (DMG).


Hans D. Lehmann is an organic chemist with an extensive working experience in polymer chemistry and polymer processing technology. He received his Diploma in chemistry from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, in 1962. He worked as a polymer chemist and team leader in production-related research at the chemical company VEB BUNA (now Dow Chemical and Styron Deutschland, respectively). He specialized in the development of polymerization catalysts, modeling of monomer and polymer syntheses as well as their processing technologies and analytics. Moreover, until Germany's reunification Hans Dieter Lehmann was responsible for the coordination between academia, industry and government. Since 1994 he worked as a consultant for patent law and process concepts, and co-authored several patents related to structural and functional surface coatings