Surface Characteristic of Pure Titanium Sandblasted with Irregular Zirconia Particles and Acid-Etched

Abstract

Irregular alumina (IAl₂O₃) 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, IAl₂O₃ 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 (IZrO₂) was used as sandblast particle in the present study to compare the different characteristic between IZrO₂SLA and IAl₂O₃SLA surfaces. SEM, optical profilometry and XRF analysis were performed for comparison of surface characteristic. Combined with acid-etching, IZrO₂ could generate suitable primary and secondary roughness with, respectively, 10–30 µm pits and 1–3 µm 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 IZrO₂, IZrO₂SLA surface was less rough than IAl₂O₃SLA surface. Meanwhile, resulted from its different physical properties, IZrO₂ (0.13 ± 0.07%) was detected significantly less on IZrO₂SLA surface than IAl₂O₃ (6.74 ± 0.74%) on IAl₂O₃SLA surface. Therefore, IZrO₂SLA could easily prepare titanium surface with suitable multi-level morphology and moderate roughness for osseointegration. Furthermore, fewer sandblast particles residual on IZrO₂SLA surface, worries from harmful residue could be greatly reduced due to the biocompatibility of IZrO₂.