Abstract
Although there are several studies of the ultraviolet (UV) light-mediated photofunctionalization of titanium for use as implant material, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. However, the results of in vitro and in vivo studies are very encouraging. The use of UV photofunctionalization as a surface treatment on other implant materials, as the Cr-Co-Mo alloy, has not been explored in depth. Using sandblasted Cr-Co-Mo discs, the surface photofunctionalization was studied for ultraviolet A (UVA, 365 nm) and ultraviolet C (UVC, 254 nm), and the surfaces were evaluated for their ability to sustain hydroxyapatite crystal growth through incubation in simulated body fluid for a seven-day period. The variation of the pre- and post-irradiation contact angle and surface composition was determined through the quantification of the weight percentage of Ca and P crystals by the EDAX ZAF method (EDS). Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found for samples irradiated with UVA over 48 h, corresponding with hydrophilic surfaces, and the same result was found for samples exposed to 3 h of UVC. Superhydrophilic surfaces were found in samples irradiated for 12, 24 and 48 h with UVC. The decrease in the carbon content is related with the increase in the surface content of Ca and P, and vice versa over the Cr-Co-Mo surfaces.
Highlights
Implantable metallic biomaterials are non-living, used in a medical environment and designed to interact with biological systems [1]
The aim of the present work was to study the response in the surface of Cr-Co-Mo membranes after its UV photofunctionalization to improve their characteristics in relation to the hydrophilicity
The major source of implant contamination during the fabrication process occurs within the first few seconds of exposure to oxygen in the air, contaminating the surface by hydrocarbon deposition, which translates into a decrease of surface free energy that is subsequently reflected in an increase in the contact angle [33,34]
Summary
Implantable metallic biomaterials are non-living, used in a medical environment and designed to interact with biological systems [1]. In material science and engineering, studies have been focused on the behaviour, analysis and improvements of implantable materials’ properties with the aim of favouring their interaction with biological media, their biomechanical characteristics in terms of the applied loads on the structure replaced and their behaviour in a living organism. In the area of implantology, the study of the design of dental implants and other implantable devices as well as the surface treatments and/or the different coatings to give adequate physicochemical properties to obtain a desired biological response continues to be the subject of research. Metallic materials such as titanium (the gold standard) and the Cr-Co-Mo alloy have been two of the most studied [3,4,5,6].
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