Piezoelectric Coatings on Implants : Sample preparation and construction of test-equipment for in vitro experiments

Implants are commonly used for orthopaedic and dental applications. There is however a problem with implants; they have a tendency to get loose after 10-15 years of usage. Bone that is not used will get weaker; this can be concluded from studies of people being immobilised or in microgravity. When an implant is put into bone, the surrounding bone does not experience any deformation and it will resorb. This is called stress shielding. Finally the implant will get loose. To avoid this problem we want to give electrical stimulation to the bone surrounding the implant. Electricity has been used before to stimulate bone, and it has been shown that immobilised bone can almost be maintained by using electric stimulation. Piezoelectricity is a property of certain materials that make them generate electricity when they are deformed. When an implant is coated with a piezoelectric material, electrical stimulation can be achieved for the surrounding bone that is stress shielded. In this diploma work, a test-equipment is built to stimulate cells. Cells will be grown on a piezoelectric plate that is bent by the test-equipment. Thus, the cells will be stimulated by both mechanical stress and electric potential since the piezoelectric material generates electricity when it is deformed. Piezoelectric samples and culture wells suitable for bending applications are prepared and tested in the equipment. Some initial cell growth experiments have been performed to see that the material is suitable for cell growth