Surface modification of titanium and its alloys for biomedical application

Titanium and its alloys have excellent properties and are promising biomaterial in medical engineering field. A bioactive surface on a Ti substrate is a prerequisite for great performance and long service life of implants. Based on the mechanism for inducing cell/tissue responses, three kinds of methods, namely morphological, physicochemical and biochemical methods, are reviewed in this paper. Hybrid methods that integrate individual methods or have additional functions are also discussed.