Surface treatment for an implant surface

1. A method of forming an implant to be implanted into living bone, the implant being formed of a material comprising titanium, the method comprising the acts of:

deforming at least a portion of a surface of the implant to produce a first micro-scale topography;

removing at least a portion of the surface to produce a second micro-scale topography superimposed on the first topography, the second micro-scale topography being generally less coarse than the first micro-scale topography; and

adding a submicron topography superimposed on the first and second micro-scale topographies, the submicron topography including tube-like structures.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the act of deforming the implant surface to produce the first micro-scale topography comprises grit blasting the surface.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first micro-scale topography includes peak-to-valley heights of about 1 μm to about 30 μm.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the act of removing the implant surface to produce the second micro-scale topography comprises:

removing a native oxide layer from the implant surface; and

acid etching the resulting surface.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the act of acid etching the surface includes using a solution including sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the second micro-scale topography includes peak-to-valley heights of less than about 10 microns and peak-to-peak distances of less than about 3 microns.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tube-like structures are formed from titanium dioxide.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the act of adding the submicron topography includes potentiostatic anodization.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising depositing discrete nanoparticles on the first micro-scale topography, the second micro-scale topography, and the submicron topography.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the act of applying sodium lactate on the submicron topography.

11. A method of forming an implant to be implanted into living bone, the method comprising the acts of:

grit blasting at least the portion of a surface of the implant to produce a first roughened surface including peak-to-valley heights of about 10 microns to about 30 microns;

acid etching the grit blasted surface to produce a second roughened surface having peak-to-valley heights of less than about 10 microns superimposed on the first roughened surface; and

providing a submicron topography superimposed on the second roughened surface, the submicron topography including nanoscale tube-like structures.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the act of providing the submicron topography includes potentiostatic anodization, and wherein potentiostatic anodization includes:

coupling the implant to a power supply;

coupling the power supply to a metal structure; and

immersing the implant, power supply, and metal structure in an electrolyte solution including an aqueous electrolyte solution including fluoride ions.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising depositing discrete nanoparticles on the first roughened surface, the second roughened surface, and the submicron topography.

14. An implant to be implanted into living bone, the implant being formed of a material comprising titanium, the implant comprising:

a first micro-scale topography;

a second micro-scale topography superimposed on the first topography, the second micro-scale topography being generally less coarse than the first micro-scale topography; and

a submicron topography superimposed on the first and second micro-scale topographies, the submicron topography including tube-like structures.

15. The implant of claim 14 , wherein the first micro-scale topography includes peak-to-valley heights of about 1 μm to about 30 μm.

16. The implant of claim 14 , wherein the second micro-scale topography includes peak-to-valley heights of less than about 10 microns and peak-to-peak distances of less than about 3 microns.

17. The implant of claim 14 , wherein the tube-like structures are formed from titanium dioxide.

18. The implant of claim 14 , further comprising discrete nanoparticles deposited on the first micro-scale topography, the second micro-scale topography, and the submicron topography.

19. The implant of claim 14 , wherein the tube-like structures have heights in the range of about 200 nanometers to about 400 nanometers.

20. The implant of claim 14 , wherein the tube-like structures have diameters in the range of about 10 to about 400 nanometers.