Piezoactive materials for bone implants

One of the issues in implantology is osseointegration, meaning bone growing into a metal implant. Bone exhibits piezoelectric properties, i.e. an electrical charge is generated at the ends of the bone when pressure or tension is applied. This property is absent in metallic materials. A solution thus could be to prepare a piezoelectric coating on the surface of the implant and thereby improve healing and binding of the implant to the bone. It is possible to use directly a bone component called hydroxyapatite or dielectric materials, for example: BaTiO3. In addition, doping with a small amount of silver can prevent the spread of bacteria.