Chitosan-Based Bioactive Composite Coatings on Ti Alloys by Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD)

This chapter discusses a new class of biomedical coatings for permanent metallic implants developed by the versatile electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique. The context is specifically focused on bioactive composite coatings based on chitosan, as one of the most abundant and promising polysaccharides, and the mechanism of deposition on metallic substrates under the influence of an electrical field. An array of bioactive compositions, spanning from silica-based bioactive glasses to calcium–phosphate ceramics, which have been utilized as inorganic phases to obtain chitosan composite coatings, is introduced and discussed. Special consideration has been devoted to metallic substrates, specifically titanium and its alloys, when it comes to exploring the manifold functionalities and advantages of chitosan composite coatings for orthopedic applications.