ABSTRACT
Over the past centuries, there has been substantial growth in the complexity and functionality of biomaterials in the biomedical field. Various metallic biomaterials are employed in medical equipment or devices in humans far more than any other series of materials. These biomaterials are often used in form of implants, tools (e.g. orthopedic and dental implants) made from metals such as stainless steel, titanium and alloys, dental amalgams, nitinol (SMAs) based on nickel and titanium, tantalum, etc. These biomaterials limit susceptibility of developing infection, corrosion and thereby risk to human life. In order to prevent these biomaterials from getting corroded, surface modification is employed which significantly helps in mitigating infection and hazardous effects of corrosion. This chapter provides an updated detailed overview of the fundamentals, functionality, and compatibility of the various advanced surface treatment methods being used to improve the biocompatibility of biomaterials. Also, numerous novel techniques such as physical vapor deposition (PVD), electrophoretic deposition, anodization, sol-gel deposition techniques, and other plasma spray treatments have been extensively explored to provide readers an insight analysis on the fundamentals of surface treatments, with a focus on applications in the biomedical field.
