Abstract
Surface modification is used to extend the life of implants. To increase the corrosion resistance and improve the biocompatibility of metal implant materials, oxidation of the Ti-13Nb-13Zr titanium alloy was used. The samples used for the research had the shape of a helix with a metric thread, with their geometry imitating a dental implant. The oxide layer was produced by a standard electrochemical method in an environment of 1M H3PO4 + 0.3% HF for 20 min, at a constant voltage of 30 V. The oxidized samples were analyzed with a scanning electron microscope. Nanotubular oxide layers with internal diameters of 30–80 nm were found. An analysis of the surface topography was performed using an optical microscope, and the Sa parameter was determined for the top of the helix and for the bottom, where a significant difference in value was observed. The presence of the modification layer, visible at the bottom of the helix, was confirmed by analyzing the sample cross-sections using computed tomography. Corrosion tests performed in the artificial saliva solution demonstrated higher corrosion current and less noble corrosion potential due to incomplete surface coverage and pitting. Necessary improved oxidation parameters will be applied in future work.
Highlights
Titanium and its alloys are nowadays among the most popular biomaterials, called the “gold standard” for endosseous dental implants, even if some adverse reactions may be expected
Bioactivity of the surface resulting in adhesion of osteoblasts and bone ingrowth can be achieved by the development of surface roughness, creation of bioactive films, and deposition of coatings [2]
Many different methods have been used to change the surface roughness of dental implants, including mechanical techniques such as grinding, polishing, machining, sandblasting and attrition, chemical etching in acids, alkali and fluorides, electrophoretic deposition, and laser treatments [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]
Summary
Titanium and its alloys are nowadays among the most popular biomaterials, called the “gold standard” for endosseous dental implants, even if some adverse reactions may be expected. Nanotubular oxide layers have been reported to increase the bioactivity of titanium implants [36,37,38], the nucleation and growth of hydroxyapatite coatings [39], and to introduce antibacterial effects after loading the nanotubes with drugs [40,41]. Such a type of surface was already fabricated on the nontoxic Ti-13Zr-13Nb alloy investigated here [42,43]. This research was aimed at an assessment of the creation of nanotubular oxide layers on screw fixed dental implants and the characterization of the layers obtained on the tops and bottoms of helices of implants
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