©2017 Published in 5th International Symposium on Innovative Technologies in Engineering and Science 29-30 September 2017 (ISITES2017 Baku - Azerbaijan) *Fatih SARGIN: Address: Faculty of Engineering, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Manisa Celal Bayar University, 45000, Manisa, ,TURKEY. E-mail address: faith.sargin@cbu.edu.tr, Phone:+902362012411 Biocompatible Coating of Polyetheretherketone Biomaterials and Its Characterization , 1 Fatih SARGIN 1 Ahmet TÜRK and 1 Garip ERDOĞAN 1* Faculty of Engineering, Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Turkey Abstract Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a semi-crystalline synthetic thermoplastic polymer that has excellent mechanical properties, elastic modulus similar to bone, chemical stability and good biocompatibility. However, PEEK has a bio-inert surface and because of that it does not interact enough with host environment. One of the best methods to solve this problem and improve the surface properties of PEEK is surface coating with bioactive materials. The aim of this study is coating PEEK substrates with Titanium (Ti) and Hydroxyapatite (HA) using Atmospheric Plasma Spraying (APS) and characterization coated PEEK biomaterials. Structural characterization performed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray Diffractometer (XRD). Roughness measurements and micro hardness tests were performed in order to mechanical characterization. The results showed that biocompatibility of PEEK biomaterials can be improved with the Ti/HA multilayer coatings. Key words: Polyetheretherketone , Titanium, Hydroxyapatite, Atmospheric Plasma Spray 1. Introduction Metallic implants such as Titanium (Ti) and its alloys, stainless steels and Cobalt-Chromium alloy are one of the most known materials in orthopedic and dental applications because of their biocompatibility, corrosion resistance and superior mechanical behaviors[1,3]. However metallic implants have some disadvantages such as wear, stress shielding, ion leakage in long term usage and elastic modulus mismatch with human bone [1-4]. Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a semi-crystalline high-performance thermoplastic polymer which emerged in the late 1990s, with outstanding mechanical properties, good chemical stability and good biocompatibility. PEEK has a melting temperature of 343 °C which offers high thermal stability up to 260°C [4-6]. PEEK also is a radio-opaque biomaterial which is an important advantage for imaging systems such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [7]. But most importantly PEEK has a good sterilization capacity [8] and an elastic modulus which is similar to natural human bone. These superior properties of PEEK make it a suitable biomaterial for trauma, orthopedics and spine implants [5]. Also industrial grade PEEK polymers have been widely used in aircrafts, turbine blades and oil refinery pipes [5, 9, and 10]. But , the bio-inert behavior of PEEK pose an obstacle to the generating of a chemical bond with human bone tissue, and because of that reason formation of that bond can be delayed or the resulting bond can be weak [2]. If this problem can be fixed, then PEEK will be a superior polymeric implant which can replace the metallic implants such as Ti and its alloys.