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EnBIO’s novel platform technology is a new room temperature chemical free means of depositing bioceramic materials on the surface of any reactive metal (titanium and its alloys (including nitinol), cobalt chrome, aluminum, and some stainless steels), i.e. those metals typically utilized in implants.
EnBIO has called its new process CoBlast™ and it is based on the mechanical process of microblasting (a form of grit blasting). While conventional grit blasting focuses on surface roughening and material removal, CoBlast™ is a blast based technique for material deposition. The resultant surface modification gives rise to a textured morphology and chemical alteration as a result of the entrapped bioceramic material. As the deposited material is entrapped in the surface, and does not constitute a laminate layer or coating, the new surface cannot delaminate or chip off as is the case with conventional coatings.
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CoBlast™ is a non-complex, chemical free, room temperature process and hence its appeal; the benign conditions mean that the applied bioceramics (dopants) are fundamentally unaltered post deposition. Many therapeutic and biologic agents (antibiotics and growth factors, antiproliferatives, etc…) can be added to the dopant and hence to implant surfaces without any loss of potency, pointing to unlimited flexibility and potential. For the first time it is possible for new and novel functionalities to be added to the surface of any metallic implants in a manner devoid of complications. EnBIO believes that this capability will lead to the development of new ideas and product concepts not heretofore considered.
The straightforward nature of the CoBlast™ process means that it can easily be added to any production process and at a favorable cost relative to conventional deposition techniques in the medical device sector. Abrasive blasting is already well regulated in medical device manufacturing, and this coupled with the fact that all the materials—dopants and substrates—are also well established gives precedence for regulatory approval and hence sector acceptance. It also means that there is already appropriate equipment and expertise available within the industry.
For more information on CoBlast™, download the Datasheet.
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