Abstract
Plasma surface treatment can be an attractive strategy for modifying the chemically inert nature of zirconia to improve its clinical performance. This study aimed to clarify the effect of plasma gas compositions on the physicochemical surface modifications of 3 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (3Y-TZP). The cold, atmospheric plasma discharges were carried out by using four different plasma gases, which are He/O2, N2/Ar, N2, and Ar from an application distance of 10 mm for 60 s. Static contact angles were measured to define the surface free energy. Changes in elemental composition, surface crystallinity, and surface topography were assessed with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. A significant decrease in water contact angle was observed in all plasma groups with the lowest value of 69° in the N2/Ar group. CLSM and SEM investigations exhibited no morphological changes in all plasma groups. XPS revealed that a reduction in the surface C content along with an increase in O content was pronounced in the case of N2/Ar compared to others, which was responsible for high hydrophilicity of the surface. XRD showed that the changes in crystallite size and microstrain due to oxygen atom displacements were observed in the N2/Ar group. The N2/Ar plasma treatment may contribute to enhancing the bioactivity as well as the bonding performance of 3Y-TZP by controlling the plasma-generated nitrogen functionalities.
Highlights
The surface modification strategies for biomaterials help to tailor the outcome of biological-material interactions by controlling the surface energy, biocompatibility, and adhesion strength of the substrates [1]
We have investigated the effect of plasma gas types on surface physicochemistry and surface topography of 3Y-TZP by contact angle, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis
The highest value of the polar component in the surface energy was obtained in the N2/Ar group, which was probably related to the high interaction energy of the zirconia surface
Summary
The surface modification strategies for biomaterials help to tailor the outcome of biological-material interactions by controlling the surface energy, biocompatibility, and adhesion strength of the substrates [1]. Plasma modification is one way to alter the surface properties of biomaterials with high-energy ion bombardment through physical collisions or chemical reactions of the excited gas molecules [2]. CAP, named non-thermal plasma (NTP), consists of a partially ionized gas that is not in the thermodynamic equilibrium. CAP generates a large amount of chemically reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) in biological systems [3,10]. One of the typical CAP sources is dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD), which is responsible for a self-pulsing plasma operation with an insulating (dielectric) material in the discharge gap. A DBD system requires a high voltage AC source (1–100 kVrms) in the kHz range [11]
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