A series of doped apatites have been deposited onto titanium (V) substrates using a novel ambient temperature blasting process. The potential of these deposited doped apatites as non‐colonizing osteoconductive coatings has been evaluated in vitro. XPS, EDX, and gravimetric analysis demonstrated that a high degree of coating incorporation was observed for each material. The modified surfaces were found to produce osteoblast proliferation comparable to, or better than, a hydroxyapatite finish. Promising levels of initial microbial inhibition were observed from the Sr‐ and Ag‐doped surfaces, with the strontium showing prolonged ability to reduce bacteria numbers over a 30‐day period. Ion elution profiles have been characterized and linked to the microbial response and based on the results obtained, mechanisms of kill have been suggested. In this study, the direct contact of coated substrate surfaces with microbes was observed to be a significant contributing factor to the antimicrobial performance and the anticolonizing activity. The silver substituted apatite was observed to out‐perform both the SrA and ZnA in terms of biofilm inhibition. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2010.