A novel method of surface modification by electrochemical deoxidation: Effect on surface characteristics and initial bioactivity of zirconia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the surface characteristics and initial bioactivity of ceria-stabilized zirconia/alumina nanocomposite (NANOZR) with those of yttria-stabilized zirconia (3Y-TZP) and pure titanium (CpTi) following the use of three surface modification methods; polishing, sandblasting/acid-etching (SB-E) and electrochemical deoxidation (ECD). Physical properties including surface morphology, chemical composition, X-ray diffraction, surface wettability, surface roughness, and hardness were measured. Osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells were used to examine cell morphology and attachment to the surfaces of the materials. ECD treated NANOZR (NANOZR-E) showed a well-arranged, self-organized microporous surface structure with significantly low contact angles when compared with the other specimens (p < 0.05). NANOZR-E also demonstrated a slight decrease in monoclinic phase content (-4.4 wt %). The morphology and attachment of MC3T3-E1 cells on NANOZR-E were similar to those on polished and SBE-treated CpTi surfaces. Higher cell affinity was observed on NANOZR-E when compared with ECD treated 3Y-TZP. The findings of this study indicate the effectiveness of the novel technique, ECD, in the formation of a microporous surface on NANOZR when compared with both CpTi and 3Y-TZP. Moreover, this method also appears to improve the biological activity of NANOZR during the initial stage. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 105B: 2641-2652, 2017.

Evaluation of Tensile Bond Strength between Self-Adhesive Resin Cement and Surface-Pretreated Zirconia

“…The handling process is simple and safe because of the lack of harmful emitted vapors. Liu et al showed that zirconia-particle coating led to a shear bond strength superior to that of tribochemical silica coating, glazing porcelain coating after sintering of zirconia, and silica slurry coating prior to the sintering of zirconia after thermocycling [42]. The increase in Ra in the present study from 60.08 nm (control) to 164.765 nm shows that use of the slurry produces excellent results.…”

Recent Modifications of Zirconia in Dentistry

“…For example, electrochemical deoxidation of zirconia (ECD) improved its biocompatibility by developing a micro-porous surface and thus lowering the contact angle. This method is known to enhance surface wettability through oxygen removal from the surface of the solid zirconia using molten salt electrolysis [63].…”

Surface Modifications for Zirconia Dental Implants: A Review

“…However, zirconia has a limitation in electrochemical application because of its non-conductive character. Liu et al (60) introduced the electrochemical deoxidation (ECD) technique to improve zirconia surfaces, which removed oxygen from the solid metal oxides via molten salt electrolysis. It suggested that ECD treated zirconia showed well-arranged microporous, low contact angles, and a slight decrease in monoclinic phase content (−4.4 wt%).…”