Ion implantation for surface modification of biomaterials

Materials used in medicine should fulfill several strict conditions primarily imposed by biological restrictions: absence of harmful interactions with body cells, good compatibility with organs and, finally, suitable mechanical properties. These conditions are often contradictory; hence, only exceptionally single-phased materials can provide the best choice and the appropriate surface treatment appears thus as a mandatory condition for designing of advanced devices. Ion implantation offers an unrivalled tool for tailoring of the surface properties, making possible to design new biocompatible materials characterized by superior mechanical or biological properties. Such properties as: cell adhesion, wettability, hardness, wear resistance and friction are currently intensively investigated. Some of them, mainly those related to cell adhesion and mechanical properties, are presented in this paper. Special emphasis is given to problems of wettability and friction reduction of ceramics and polymers.