In recent years, the scientists from the ICPF investigated materials based on titanium and its alloys, which are widely used in biomedicine. The team of Dr. Pola studied the modification of the surfaces of these materials in order to improve osseointegration with bone tissue. Their new method was recently published in material chemistry journal Applied Surface Science.
In the article, authors describe the modification of the titanium surface by treatment with titanium silicide (Ti5Si3) and the products of its reaction with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and hydrochloric acid. This process partially dissolves the SiOx nanoparticles, allowing the emerging TiOx nanoparticles to agglomerate into larger porous structures. This also allows for the introduction of SiOx nanoparticles into the structure of the agglomerates, resulting in formation of porous titanium surfaces containing TiOx/SiOx nanoparticles, which leads to significant improvement of osseointegration and adhesion of bone tissue to the titanium implants. The disclosed one-step process of preparation of the bioactive TiOx and SiOx particles can be used for modification of the bioactive coatings.
Jandová, Věra, Fajgar, Radek, Kupčík, Jaroslav, Pola, Josef, Soukup, Karel, Mikysek, Petr, Křenek, T., Kovářík, T., Stich, F., Docheva, D. Corrosion behavior of titanium silicide surface with hydrogen peroxide: formation of sub-μm TiOx- based spheres, nanocomposite TiOx/SiOx phases, and mesoporous TiOx/SiOx network. Applied Surface Science. 2020, 529, 147133. ISSN 0169-4332.
DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.147133
Fig. One-step process of preparation of bioactive TiOx and SiOx particles.