title: Do oral biofilms influence the wear and corrosion behavior of titanium?
abstract: The main aim of this work was to study the simultaneous wear-corrosion of titanium (Ti) in the presence of biofilms composed of Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans. Both organisms were separately grown in specific growth media, and then mixed in a medium supplemented with a high sucrose concentration. Corrosion and tribocorrosion tests were performed after 48 h and 216 h of biofilm growth. Electrochemical corrosion tests indicated a decrease in the corrosion resistance of Ti in the presence of the biofilms although the TiO(2) film presented the characteristics of a compact oxide film. While the open circuit potential of Ti indicated a tendency to corrosion in the presence of the biofilms, tribocorrosion tests revealed a low friction on biofilm covered Ti. The properties of the biofilms were similar to those of the lubricant agents used to decrease the wear rate of materials. However, the pH-lowering promoted by microbial species, can lead to corrosion of Ti-based oral rehabilitation systems.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Mechanical and Materials Technologies (CT2M), Universidade do Minho, Guimaraes, Portugal.
authors.forename: J C M
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Henriques
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Teughels
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Celis
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rocha
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000502:physiology*; D003343:Corrosion; D003722:Dental Alloys / Q000737:chemistry*; D019554:Dental Restoration Wear; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008153:Lubrication; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000502:physiology*; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D003722:Dental Alloys; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium