The Effect of Nitrogen Ion Implantation on the Surface Properties of Ti6Al4V Alloy Coated by a Carbon Nanolayer

The ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) method was chosen for preparing a carbon thin film with a mixing area on a substrate of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy. Nitrogen ions with energy 90 keV were used. These form a broad ion beam mixing area at the interface between the carbon film and the substrate. We investigated the chemical composition by the glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GD-OES) method and the phases by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. The measured concentration profiles indicate the mixing of the carbon film into the substrate, which may have an effect on increasing the adhesion of the deposited film. The nanohardness and the coefficient of friction were measured. We found that the modified samples had a markedly lower coefficient of friction even after damage to the carbon film, and they also had higher nanohardness than the unmodified samples. The increased nanohardness is attributed to the newly created phases that arose with ion implantation of nitrogen ions

Physico-chemical properties of PDMS surfaces suitable as substrates for cell cultures

Elastic properties of the substrate have profound effect on adhesion and proliferation of cells. Here, we introduce a method to produce polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates with stiffness tuned monotonically from 1.67 to 0.24 MPa, by the time of UV irradiation adjusted up to 5 h. The Young’s modulus (determined by using nanoindenter) scales linearly with stiffness calculated using AFM-based force spectroscopy data. Such a relation enables the determination of the Young modulus from AFM force – distance curves also when the Herz model is not applicable. Our findings demonstrate that surface properties of PDMS substrates are not affected by the applied methodology of tuning substrate elasticity. Finally, the colorimetric proliferation assay (MTT) carried out for non-malignant (HCV29) and cancerous (T24) bladder cancer cells depicted a significant contribution of PDMS substrate elasticity to the behavior of cells. The softer PDMS substrate demonstrated excellent cytocompatibility whereas the stiff one is more cell-repellent

Development of Smart Sensing Film with Nonbiofouling Properties for Potentiometric Detection of Local pH Changes Caused by Bacterial and Yeast Infections Around Orthopedic Implants

Abstract The local peri‐implant pH changes caused by sterile inflammation and bacterial and fungal infections are studied herein. Then, a sensing electrode based on polyaniline and poly(2‐methyl‐2‐oxazoline) on a titanium alloy support is developed for potentiometric detection of peri‐implant pH changes to enable early detection of the aforementioned pathologies. The infected endoprosthesis area is shown to have an average pH of 0.79 units lower than the aseptic sample. The pH measurements of the individual pathogenic bacteria or pathogenic yeast reveal that Escherichia coli decreased the pH by 1.24 units, Staphylococcus aureus decreased the pH by 1.33 units and the methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria decreased the pH from 7.2 to 5.6 during 10 h, followed by a subsequent increase to 6.4. The results are statistically significant (α = 0.01). Pseudomonas aeruginosa is not shown to change pH levels. On the other hand, the pathogenic yeast has the lowest recorded pH, which decreases from 5.8 to 4.8. This difference in pH can be used to identify the nature of the infection. The developed electrodes have a pH response between pH 5 and 8, with a Nernstian slope of −59.6/pH. The developed electrode can contribute to the next generation of biosensors