The innovation engine for new materials

Katherine Santizo

CISEI Intern

University: 

University of California, Santa Barbara

Major: 

Chemical Engineering

Site Abroad: 

Chalmers Institute of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden

Faculty Sponsor(s): 

Martin Andersson

Faculty Sponsor's Department: 

Chemical Engineering

Project Title: 

SURFACE TOPOGRAPHY CHARACTERIZATION OF MESOPOROUS TIO2 THIN FILMS USED AS COATING OF BONE ANCHORED IMPLANTS

Project Description: 

Mesoporous films have been of great interest as implant coating since they have shown to improve bone-implant integration, also known as osseointegration, due to the implant’s unique surface topography. While the microtopography has been highly researched there is little known about the nanotopography’s influence on osseointegration. In the project, TiO2 mesoporous films coated onto titanium implants and glass substrates were examined using atomic force microscopy (AFM) for imaging and surface topography analysis. TiO2 films with varying pore sizes of 2.5-3.0 , 4.2, 6.0 , 6.5 and 7.2 nm were synthesized using the Evaporation-Induced Self-Assembly (EISA) method known to produce uniformly porous films; additionally, spin-coating was used to prepare the films. Varying pore sizes were used to determine their respective effect thus establishing an optimal pore size for the coating of implants. A non-porous film was utilized as a control surface. Key parameters such as surface roughness (Sa) and root mean square (Sq) of the films were calculated for each pore size. From the surface topography values of the glass substrates it was determined that the film with pore size of 6.5 nm had the roughest surface while the pores of size 2.5-3 nm exhibited the smoothest surface. When the roughest film was applied to the titanium implant disc, the film showed to enhance the surface roughness on the microscale level while reducing it at the nanoscale level. The obtained results are believed to have a direct clinical relevance and are very important in the development of novel nanostructured implant surfaces.