Surface characteristic of pure titanium sandblasted with irregular zirconia particles and Acid-Etched

Abstract

Irregular alumina (IAl 2O 3) is widely used in the procedure of sandblasting with large grit and acid-etching (SLA) which has been confirmed as a favorable surface treatment for implant to improve osseointegration. However, IAl 2O 3 with cytotoxic has been found residual on implant surfaces after modification and thought to be a potential threaten to implants' long-term survival. Due to its similar shape and excellent biocompatibility, irregular zirconia (IZrO 2) was used as sandblast particle in the present study to compare the different characteristic between IZrO 2SLA and IAl 2O 3SLA surfaces. SEM, optical profilometry and XRF analysis were performed for comparison of surface characteristic. Combined with acid-etching, IZrO 2 could generate suitable primary and secondary roughness with, respectively, 1030μm pits and 13μm micro pits. Three-dimensional roughness parameters (S a, S z, S dr and S ds) revealed that because of the lower Vickers hardness and higher Specific gravity of IZrO 2, IZrO 2SLA surface was less rough than IAl 2O 3SLA surface. Meanwhile, resulted from its different physical properties, IZrO 2 (0.13 ± 0.07%) was detected significantly less on IZrO 2SLA surface than IAl 2O 3 (6.74 ± 0.74%) on IAl 2O 3SLA surface. Therefore, IZrO 2SLA could easily prepare titanium surface with suitable multi-level morphology and moderate roughness for osseointegration. Furthermore, fewer sandblast particles residual on IZrO 2SLA surface, worries from harmful residue could be greatly reduced due to the biocompatibility of IZrO 2. © 2012 The Japan Institute of Metals.