Surface Hydrophilicity and Antifungal Properties of TiO2 Films Coated on a Co-Cr Substrate.

Lijuan Huang,Xizhang Wang,Shuanglin Jing,Xiangfeng Meng,Ou Zhuo

doi:10.1155/2017/2054723

Lijuan Huang, Xizhang Wang + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/2054723

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to deposit a thin layer of TiO2 on a Co-Cr substrate, serving as a deactivation film protecting the metallic fitting surface. The crystalline structure and surface morphology of the film were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A scratch tester was used to examine the adhesion strength between the TiO2 film and the Co-Cr substrate. The water contact angles and antifungal efficacy against C. albicans of the TiO2-deposited Co-Cr samples were investigated and further compared with those of uncoated Co-Cr substrates. The results indicated that a pure anatase microstructure and dense and smooth surface texture as well as strong binding to the underlying metallic surface were obtained. The originally hydrophobic Co-Cr alloy surface turned hydrophilic after TiO2 film coating. Most importantly, the TiO2-coated surface showed a superior antifungal capability under UV-irradiation compared to those without TiO2 coating. This work contains meaningful results for the development of a new metallic framework coating with improved hydrophilicity and antifungal properties.

Highlights

The demand for prosthetic treatment is of increasing tendency as a result of the aging issue globally [1, 2]
Besides the typical peaks corresponding to elements of Co-Cr substrate, the dominating (101), (112), (200), and (211) crystalline peaks corresponded to the anatase TiO2 phase
This suggested a highly crystalline TiO2 film formed on the Co-Cr alloy

Summary

Introduction

The demand for prosthetic treatment is of increasing tendency as a result of the aging issue globally [1, 2]. Removable partial denture (RPD) is regarded as a simple and economic option to repair the missing teeth [3]. RPDs have been the commonly used treatment for edentulism to date. It has been reported that yeasts and bacteria are prone to colonize on the fitting surface of the dentures forming biofilms [4, 5]. These biofilms cause damage to the oral mucosa below, commonly associated with denture stomatitis (DS). DS affects up to two-thirds or even more of denture wearers, the majority of whom are asymptomatic and unaware of the problem [6,7,8]

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