Abstract
Nano-scale surface roughening of metallic bio-implants plays an important role in the clinical success of hard tissue reconstruction and replacement. In this study, the nano-topographical features of titanium-niobium-zirconium (TNZ) alloy surfaces were controlled by using the target-ion induced plasma sputtering (TIPS) technique to improve the in vitro osteoblastic response. The TIPS technique is a novel strategy for etching the surface of metallic bio-implants using bombardment of target metal cations, which were accelerated by an extremely high negative bias voltage applied to the substrates. The nano-topography of the TNZ surfaces was successfully controlled by modulating experimental variables (such as the ion etching energy and the type of substrate or target materials) of TIPS. As a result, various nanopatterns (size: 10–210 nm) were fabricated on the surface of the TNZ alloys. Compared with the control group, experimental groups with nanopattern widths of ≥130 nm (130 and 210 nm groups) exhibited superior cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Our findings demonstrate that TIPS is a promising technology that can impart excellent biological functions to the surface of metallic bio-implants.
Highlights
Ti-based alloys including Ti-6Al-4V are well-established bio-metals that exhibit excellent mechanical strength and biocompatibility required for various applications such as dental implants and bone plates/pins [1,2,3,4]
To confirm a nano-topographical change of TNZ surface depending on the target metal ion sources in target-ion induced plasma sputtering (TIPS) system, two different metal targets, niobium (Nb) and tantalum (Ta), were used
Various experimental parameters were considered in order to understand the nanotopographical changes on the TNZ surfaces after Nb- or Ta-TIPS
Summary
Ti-based alloys including Ti-6Al-4V are well-established bio-metals that exhibit excellent mechanical strength and biocompatibility required for various applications such as dental implants and bone plates/pins [1,2,3,4]. Titanium-niobium-zirconium (TNZ) alloys are a recently suggested alloy system with a low Young’s modulus that is comparable to that of the cortical bone. These alloys exhibit excellent biocompatibility due to the biocompatible alloying elements, niobium (Nb) and zirconium (Zr) [6,7]. Despite these attributes, the rate of osseointegration at the early stage of implantation is still too low to achieve a robust fixation of TNZ implants. Accelerated osseointegration between the surface of bio-implants and the surrounding tissue can be achieved through surface treatments, such as chemical functionalization or physical surface modifications, of the implants [8,9,10]
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