Apresentação efetuada em "Junior Euromat 2022", em Coimbra, 2022Orthopedic implants for load-bearing applications are usually composed of titanium-based materials. However, insufficient bioactivity of metallic materials impairs the bonding with bone, compromising osseointegration at an early stage. The implant-bone interface may be improved by regulating some surface properties of the biomaterials, including surface chemical composition, surface energy, roughness and topography, which influence the behavior of bone cells.
In the present study, commercially pure titanium and Ti6Al4V alloy were used to investigate the effect of three surface treatments, after performing two different chemical pre-treatments, on the characteristics of the obtained oxide films. Regarding the pre-treatments, no major differences were observed between performing alcohol cleaning or acidic pre-treatment, considering the surface crystallinity, roughness and wettability. However, the TiO2 layer formed upon anodic oxidation, hydrothermal treatment and anodic oxidation followed by hydrothermal treatment presented different characteristics regarding its crystallinity, roughness, thickness and wettability.
This study compared specific surface treatments and the hydrothermal treatment is proposed as a simple treatment capable of improving the characteristics of the implant surface, thereby promoting osteoconductivity. In fact, the culture of human Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Ti-based materials subjected to hydrothermal treatment and consequent induction of osteogenic differentiation confirm the improved surface characteristics.This work was supported by FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) through the grant
SFRH/BD/141056/2018 and the projects PTDC/EME-EME/1442/2020, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030498,
UIDB/04436/2019 and UIDP/04436/2020. In addition, this work was developed within the scope of the
project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020, UIDP/50011/2020 & LA/P/0006/2020,
financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC (PIDDAC)