Special Articles on Technology and Its Characterization for Synthesis of Inorganic Materials. Synthesis of Apatite Layer by a Biomimetic Process.

Substrates including ceramics, metals and polymers were placed on particles of a CaO·SiO2based glass which were soaked in a simulated body fluid at 36.5 °C, and then reimmersed into an aqueous solution with ion concenteations 1.5 times those of the simulated body fluid at 36.5 °C. An uniform layer of an apatite similar to the bone mineral was formed on all th e examined substrates. The thickness of the layer increased at a rate of 1.7 μm/d. This kind of biomimetic process might be useful for obtaining highly bioactive composites with mechanical properties close to those of the natural bone.