Surface characterization of titanium alloys sterilized for biomedical applications

The high biocompatibility of Ti and Ti-based implants is closely related to the properties of the surface oxide formed during the implant preparation stages. During the machining process, the metal is exposed to the ambient atmosphere and oxidized. This surface oxide layer may be modified during the subsequent implant preparation steps: cleaning and sterilization. In this study, surface elemental and chemical information as well as the thickness of the oxide layer are evaluated for the Ti-6Al-4V alloy before and after different sterilization procedures: UV radiation, steam autoclaving, and radio-frequency glow-discharge (RFGD) treatment in argon atmosphere. The analytical techniques used are: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS or ESCA) and the scanning Auger microprobe (SAM). The results of this study indicate that among steam autoclaving, UV radiation and RFGD treatment, the latter yields cleaner surfaces. Also, depth profiles of the specimens treated with RFGD in argon showed an increase in the oxide layer thickness with respect to the values observed for non-sterilized samples.