Morphological and in vivo study of titanium dental implant surface modified by pulsed laser irradiation

M. MARTICORENA, G. O. CORTI, P. MARTÍN, F. GOLMAR, A. N. ALCARÁZ, G. QUINTANA, M. SIVAK, D. OLMEDO, F. AUDEBERT AND M. B. GUGLIELMOTTI

Tenerife, España

Conferencia; IX International Conference on Laser Ablation (COLA 2007); 2007

Laser surface irradiation of materials induces a large variety of morphologies such as columns, cones, periodic wavelike structures, etc. The formation of these surface structures have been observed on different materials, background atmospheres and laser processing parameters. The surface characteristics of titanium dental implants (physico-chemical properties and morphology) play a significant role in the process of osseointegration. In this study, a Nd: YAG laser (l = 355 nm, 10 Hz, t = 8 n, fluence: 2.5 J/cm2.) was used to modify the surface properties of commercially pure titanium foils with the aim to improve osseintegration. Titanium samples, located on an X-Y motorized stage, were irradiated in vacuum, argon and oxygen atmospheres. The laser treated Ti foils (vacuum and argon atmosphere) were inserted in the tibia of Wistar male rats in order to obtain the “peri-implant” reparative process response that leads to osseointegration. Histological and histomorphometric analysis were performed The samples surfaces were analyses by SEM (Fig. 1 a-c), XRD and EDAX to compare morphological details and crystalline structures of laser – treated sample with non-irradiated material.