title: Graphitic carbon in a nanostructured titanium oxycarbide thin film to improve implant osseointegration.
abstract: A nanostructured coating layer on titanium implants, able to improve their integration into bones and to protect against the harsh conditions of body fluids, was obtained by Ion Plating Plasma Assisted, a method suitable for industrial applications. A titanium carbide target was attached under vacuum to a magnetron sputtering source powered with a direct current in the 500-1100 W range, and a 100 W radio frequency was applied to the sample holder. The samples produced at 900 W gave the best biological response in terms of overexpression of some genes of proteins involved in bone turnover. We report the characterization of a reference and of an implant sample, both obtained at 900 W. Different micro/nanoscopic techniques evidenced the morphology of the substrates, and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy was used to disclose the surface composition. The layer is a 500 nm thick hard nanostructure, composed of 60% graphitic carbon clustered with 15% TiC and 25% Ti oxides.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Roma 'La Sapienza' p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: robertino.zanoni@uniroma1.it.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zanoni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Biochimiche, Università di Roma 'La Sapienza', p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Ioannidu
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Biochimiche, Università di Roma 'La Sapienza', p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mazzola
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Biochimiche, Università di Roma 'La Sapienza', p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Politi
authors.affiliation: Romana Film Sottili, Anzio, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Misiano
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy; Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, SB IPSB LPMV, BSP 409 (Cubotron UNIL), R.te de la Sorge, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.affiliation: ENEA, Unità Tecnica Applicazioni delle Radiazioni, via Anguillarese 301, 00123 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Falconieri
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Biochimiche, Università di Roma 'La Sapienza', p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scandurra
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002244:Carbon; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D006108:Graphite; D006801:Humans; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D049329:Nanostructures; D016348:Osseointegration; D056951:Photoelectron Spectroscopy; D019736:Prostheses and Implants; D013499:Surface Properties; D014025:Titanium
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002244:Carbon; D006108:Graphite; D014025:Titanium