Recent Progress in Sputtered Metal-Based Thin Film Coatings for Biomedical Applications

Thin film coatings are extensively used in biomedical field to enhance device functionality, reduce complications, and improve patient outcomes. Coatings made from metals, ceramics, polymers and their composites find use in a broad spectrum of biomedical applications, ranging from orthopaedic, spinal, oral, ophthalmic, and orthodontic implants, to fracture fixation and maxillofacial reconstruction and skull plates, to artificial ligaments, heart valves, stents, sensors, and drug delivery systems. They are used in such applications to enhance key device properties such as biocompatibility and corrosion resistance to avoid any toxic effects or adverse immune responses; hardness, frictional coefficient, and wear resistance to improve device longevity and reduce inflammation and tissue rejection; osseointegration to improve integration with the surrounding bone; and antimicrobial to avoid bacterial infection.