Abstracts Posters SICOT-SOF meeting Gothenburg 2010 _2_

Poster
Topic: Biomaterials
Abstract number: 26287
A RAPID METHOD TO IMPROVE THE BIOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO TITANIUM
BY LASER INDUCED ION CONVERSION
Johan FORSGREN 1 , Loli PAZ 2 , Betty LEóN 2 , Håkan ENGQVIST 1
1 Department of Engineering Sciences, Uppsala University, UPPSALA (SWEDEN),
2 Department of Applied Physics, University of Vigo, Vigo (SPAIN)
This study was carried out to investigate if a rapid laser treatment of titanium can
improve the biological response to implant surfaces. It has been shown that UVirradiation
of titanium for several hours can induce a precipitation of bone-like apatite
on the surface after immersion in a simulated body fluid. This ability has been
attributed to a conversion of Ti4+ to Ti3+ sites in the surface oxide, caused by the
UV-light which creates oxygen vacancies at bridging sites in the surface. These Ti3+
sites are favourable for the dissociation of water and induce more Ti-OH groups on
the surface that can interact with surrounding molecules and ions in vivo. It has also
been shown that such a UV treatment elicits a better cellular response to the surface.
In the present study it was shown that a similar conversion to Ti3+ can be induced by
a much shorter laser treatment, where a titanium slab is irradiated with coherent laser
light at 355nm for 10 seconds. A similar treatment at 266nm did not induce any
conversion. This was confirmed with XPS where a shoulder on the Ti2p peak
indicated the presence of Ti3+ sites. A quick bioactivity test in PBS for 3 days at 37°C
did not show any sign of bioactivity of the surfaces. However, further tests are
needed to clarify the exact mechanism of the apatite creation on these surfaces.
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