Supervisors:  Distinguished Professor Christopher Berndt and Dr Andrew Ang 

Thesis title: Bioactive ceramic coatings with antimicrobial properties to increase orthopaedic implant longevity

The short lifespan of orthopaedic implants is a major clinical problem, where failure often occurs within a few months because of infection, or within 10–15 years due to loosening. Most orthopaedic implants use titanium alloys (Ti-6Al-4V), which often cannot achieve sufficient integration with bone, and currently used hydroxyapatite coatings are prone to delamination and fragmentation. This doctoral thesis will develop a family of patented ceramics for use as novel implant coatings: Baghdadite (US patent 9,005,647), Sr-HT (US patent 8,765,163), and Sr-HT-Gahnite (US patent 9,220,806). It aims to develop a family of ceramic coatings for orthopaedic implants, featuring osteogenic and antimicrobial properties coupled with high bonding strength to prevent premature implant failure. We will optimise the plasma-spraying process for coating deposition to produce high bonding strength while ensuring that the inherent bioactivity and antimicrobial properties of the ceramics are retained. This will reduce the costs associated with revision surgery and greatly improve the recipients’ long-term quality of life.  

 Duy Quang Pham is a Mechanical Engineer, he obtained his Bachelor of Engineering from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology-Vietnam in the field of Mechanical Engineering-Mechatronics. He has five years professional engineering experience, where he worked for Kimberly-Clark Corporation in the manufacturing departments as a process-project engineer. Pham received his Master of Engineering from Swinburne University of Technology, graduating in the top 15% of students with highest academic achievement. Pham has experience working as a Research Technician with CSIRO, Australia, in the Flexible Electronics division, where he was in charge of automation projects and system designs.