Fabrication and Characterization of Conical Micro Dimple Textures on Ti6Al4V for Higher Biocompatibility

Abstract

Abstract In lab-developed micromachining facility has been utilized to fabricate conical micro dimple textured surfaces of different density on the Ti6Al4V implant surface to improve the surface properties for higher biocompatibility and osseointegration rate. The surface topography, roughness, quality, shape, and size of the formed textures were analyzed by cross-sectional form measurement using probe-type contact surface profilometer and FESEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope) analysis. Further, the surface composition of both textured and un-textured surfaces was studied by EDS (Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) analysis. The equilibrium contact angle of water was measured using the sessile drop technique of drop shape analyzer on both (textured and un-textured) surfaces. Further, the thermodynamic work of adhesion has been calculated by the Young-Dupre equation for both the surfaces. The formed textures are in good shape, size and quality. Each texture is uniform and equally spaced as per the design of experiment. Further, EDS analyses show that the surface composition of textured surfaces does not alter due to micromachining. The surface roughness values inside the dimple are almost the same, which indicates that the effect of tool wear is negligible. The hydrophilicity and work of adhesion of textured surfaces are significantly improved as compared to the untextured surface.