The aging baby boomer population coupled with an increase in life expectancy is leading to an increasing number of active elderly persons in occidental countries.  As a result, the orthopedics implant industry is facing numerous challenges such as the need to extend implant life, reduce the incidence of revision surgery and improve implant performance.   This paper will report results of an investigation on the bioperformance of newly developed coating-substrate systems.  Hydroxyapatite and nano-titania coatings were produced on Ti6Al4V and PA12-C substrates. In vitro tests to evaluate the growth of fetal rat calvaria cells on these coatings was studied.  Results of osteoblast colony development assays (CFU-O) will be presented and interpreted in relation to the coating microstructure and the nature of the substrate.