Osteoinductive Coating on PEEK Surfaces by Using Nanocrystalline Biomaterial and In Vivo Test

A surface coating on the polymer polyetheretherketone (PEEK) was developed to improve the osteointegration of an implantation model for cages (implant for spinal fusion). In a process of induction heating the polymer surface was coated with a synthetic biomaterial. The polymer surface melts during the coating process and crawls into the nanoporous structure of the biomaterial. After heat dissipation, a strong connection is reached between polymer and biomaterial. Finally, the model was implanted into New Zealand rabbit femur as control and coated group for 2, 4 and 6 weeks. The evaluation offers a ca. 10% higher bone-to-implant-contact value for the coated group.