Optimum Surface Roughness for Titanium-Coated PEEK Produced by Electron Beam PVD for Orthopedic Applications

ABSTRACT

In this study, three different surfaces of Titanium-coated PEEK were compared by their coating strength, cell adhesion, and cell growth, which were produced through electron beam PVD. For this purpose, different samples with smooth, moderate, and coarse roughness surface were prepared. Surface roughness measurement, AFM, SEM, and EDS analyses were applied to compare surface topography, observe the thickness and roughness of the coated surface, and characterised coated materials, respectively. Also, cross-cut, in vitro and in vivo tests were performed to measure adhesion strength and biological differences between samples to validate data on the optimum sample. The results showed that the adhesion strength between the coated layer and the substrate for every sample was reliable, but Cell adhesion for the sample with moderate roughness was the best among all. Therefore, moderate surface roughness was found to be optimum due to the obtained results from the interaction between implant surface and cells.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Titanium-coated PEEK
• electron beam PVD
• hydrophobic surface
• surface roughness
• adhesion strength

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.