Original Article
Hydrothermal treatment of etched titanium: A potential surface nano-modification technique for enhanced biocompatibility

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Abstract

Nanoengineering the topology of titanium (Ti) implants has the potential to enhance cytocompability and biocompatibility properties as implant surfaces play a decisive role in determining clinical success. Despite developments in various surface engineering strategies, antibacterial properties of Ti still need to be enhanced. Here a facile, cost-effective hydrothermal route was used to develop nano-patterned structures on a Ti surface. Changing hydrothermal treatment parameters such as temperature, pressure, and time, resulted in various topographies, crystal phases, and hydrophobicity. Specifically, hydrothermal treatment performed at 225 °C for 5 h, presented a novel topography with nanoflower features, exhibited no mammalian cell cytotoxicity for a time period of 14 days, and increased calcium deposition from osteoblasts. Treated samples also demonstrated antibacterial properties (without resorting to the use of antibiotics) against Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. In conclusion, hydrothermal oxidation on an etched Ti surface can generate surface properties that have excellent prospects for the biomedical field.

Graphical Abstract

Nanomorphologies such as nanoflowers, nanopetals and nanofibers were successfully fabricated on an etched titanium surface by hydrothermal treatment. The performed hydrothermal treatment is effective in terms of biocompatibility with cytocompatibility, mineralization and antibacterial activity.

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Section snippets

Preparation of nanomorphologies by hydrothermal oxidation

Commercially pure grade II Ti(cpTi) plates (10×10 mm2) from Anand metals, India were used as the substrates. Initially the samples were polished with SiC abrasive sheets up to a grade 3000 grit, followed by final polishing with colloidal silica until a mirror finish was obtained. Prior to hydrothermal treatment, these polished samples were cleaned ultrasonically with acetone, ethanol (Merck Pvt. Ltd., India) and deionized (DI) water, respectively. The samples were subjected to etching via a HNO3

XRD studies

X-ray diffraction patterns obtained for the control Ti sample and the different HT conditions are shown in Figure 1. From the XRD pattern, sharp high intensity peaks at 38.1° and 39.9° correspond to the (002) and (101) planes of metallic Ti (JCPDS No. 89-5009). The presence of the anatase phase (JCPDS No. 21-1272) was evident from the observed peaks at 24° (101) and 62° (204), whereas the diffraction peaks at 27° (110), 61° (002) and 76° (110) correspond to the rutile phase of TiO2. For HT250

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to improve the biocompatibility of commercially pure Ti by modifying the surface topography via a facile hydrothermal treatment. The FESEM results indicated that distinct morphological features can be fabricated by varying the temperature and time of hydrothermal treatment. For HT225, it was found that the morphological change from nanorods to nanopetals was dependent on the reaction duration. A possible mechanism might be the coalescing of nanorods to form

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to acknowledge everyone in the Webster Nanomedicine Lab and other students who helped us, specifically Nicole Bassous, Kanny Chang, and Zelong Xie.

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    Conflicts of interest: There are no conflicts to declare.

    Support for research: VIT SEED GRANT from Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India and the Department of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University.

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