Surface characterization of nanostructured commercially pure titanium modified by sandblasting and acid-etching for implant applications

Abstract

This study investigated the surface characteristics of ultrafine-grain commercially pure titanium (UFG CP-Ti) substrates produced by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP), compared with those of coarse-grain commercially pure titanium (CG CP-Ti) and Ti–6Al–4V (Ti-64) substrates. All Ti surfaces were sandblasted and acid-etched (SLA-treated) to produce micro-rough surfaces. Tensile and microhardness tests were carried out to measure the mechanical properties of fabricated samples. Then the surface characteristics of samples including contact angle measurements, surface morphology and in vitro cell response were evaluated after polishing, sandblasting and acid etching procedures. The results showed that after applying four passes of ECAP, the average grain size of microstructure decreased from 25 µm to 170 nm, while the ultimate tensile strength increased from 545 ± 24 MPa to 971 ± 38 MPa. Investigation of surface morphologies carried out by scanning electron microscopy indicated that ECAP-processed substrate exhibits nano-topography compared with CG CP-Ti and Ti-64 substrates after applying SLA process. In addition, the contact angle of SLA-treated CG CP-Ti and UFG CP-Ti substrates decreased from 68.3° to 9.5° and 51.9° to 7.4°, respectively, indicating a significant improvement of surface wettability. The morphologies of MG63 cells cultured on the developed surfaces proved the potential superior osteoblast cell compatibility of the micro-roughened surface made of UFG CP-Ti substrates over CG CP-Ti and Ti-64 substrates.