In situ hydrothermal transformation of titanium surface into lithium-doped continuous nanowire network towards augmented bioactivity

Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
Abdal-hay, Abdalla;Gulati, Karan;Fernandez-Medina, Tulio;Qian, Ma;Ivanovski, Saso
Abstract

A new strategy to enable the fabrication of a highly stable lithium nanowire network on titanium (Ti) surfaces is presented. The Ti surfaces were chemically modified by an alkali treatment, followed by in situ transformation of alkali-titanate into a Li-nanowire network (Ti-Li) via ionic exchange of Li+ ions during the hydrothermal reaction. The physicochemical characterization of the as-prepared Ti-Li substrates were analyzed using FE-SEM, XRD, LA-ICP-MS, and XPS techniques, in order to confirm the successful deposition of Li+ ions onto the Ti substrates. In-depth topographical and chemical characterization revealed that the stable continuous nanowire network is composed of fine Li-based nanoparticles (∼7 nm) and exhibits high surface wettability, high mechanical stability and a sustained release of Li+ ions over 21 days at 37 °C under vigorous shaking in Milli-Q water, simulated body fluid (SBF) and protein-containing fluids. Despite the coverage of the Ti-Li treated surface with a nanocrystals layer from the surrounding SBF media, Li release was not impaired. Human osteoblastsderived cells cultured on the resultant Ti-Li surfaces indicated good viability, strong adhesion and attachment onto the nanowires. In conclusion, this novel Li-incorporated nano-scaled surface modification approach holds great promise towards the fabrication of bone/titanium dental implants with superior bone-forming ability

Journal

Applied Surface Science

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505

ISBN/ISSN

1873-5584

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Pages Count

12

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Publisher

Elsevier

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DOI

10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.144604