title: Surface morphology, tribological properties and in vitro biocompatibility of nanostructured zirconia thin films.
abstract: Deposition of nanostructured and low-wear zirconia (ZrO2) thin films on the metallic component of a total joint implant is envisaged to reduce wear of the soft ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) counterpart. In this work, morphological surface features, wear resistance and in vitro-biocompatibility of zirconia thin films deposited by the novel Pulsed Plasma Deposition (PPD) method have been investigated. Film thickness, roughness and wettability were found to be strongly dependent on deposition gas pressure. Interestingly, wear rate of UHMWPE disks coupled to zirconia-coated titanium spheres was only poorly correlated to the contact angle values, while film roughness and thickness seemed not to affect it. Furthermore, wear of UHMWPE, when coupled with zirconia coated-titanium spheres, significantly decreased with respect to uncoated spheres under dry or NaCl-lubricated conditions; besides, when using bovine serum, similar results were obtained for coated and uncoated spheres. Finally, suitable mesenchymal stem and osteoblast cells adhesion, proliferation and viability were observed, suggesting good biocompatibility of the nanostructured zirconia films. Taken together, the results shown in this work indicate that zirconia thin films deposited by the PPD method deserve further investigations as low-wear materials for biomedical applications such as total joint replacement.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Laboratorio di NanoBiotecnologie (NaBi), via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136, Bologna, Italy. michele.bianchi@ior.it.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.affiliation: Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Laboratorio di NanoBiotecnologie (NaBi), via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gambardella
authors.affiliation: Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Laboratorio di NanoBiotecnologie (NaBi), via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berni
authors.affiliation: Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics, National Research Council of Italy, via Granarolo 64, 48018, Faenza, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Panseri
authors.affiliation: Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics, National Research Council of Italy, via Granarolo 64, 48018, Faenza, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Montesi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, Università degli Studi di Brescia, via Branze 38, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lopomo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics, National Research Council of Italy, via Granarolo 64, 48018, Faenza, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tampieri
authors.affiliation: Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Laboratorio di Biomeccanica e Innovazione Tecnologica, via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136, Bologna, Italy.|Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Neuromotorie-DIBINEM, Università di Bologna, via Zamboni 33, 40126, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marcacci
authors.affiliation: Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Laboratorio di NanoBiotecnologie (NaBi), via di Barbiano 1/10, 40136, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Russo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002470:Cell Survival; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods*; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D015040:Zirconium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D015040:Zirconium