Characterization of Nd: Yag Laser Radiation Effects on Ti۶Al۴V Physico-Chemical Properties: An In Vivo Study

The effect of a Nd: YAG laser (۱۰۶۴ nm) has been studied on Ti۶Al۴V alloy in terms of optical and physical parameters for biomedical applications. The superior surface microhardness hardness (i.e. ۳۷۷ VHN) is attributed to grain refinement associated with laser melting and rapid solidification. The electrochemical property, mainly pitting corrosion resistance, has been carried out in Hanks salt balanced physiological solution using standard potentiodynamic polarization testing. At the optimium laser treating fluence (۱۴۰ Jcm-۲), the EDX spectroscopy showed a decrease of about ۳۰% in the vanadium and the contact angle measurements also indicated an improved surface wettability seen in the characteristics with a contact angle of ۳۵°. Finally, Cell spreading on the implanted specimens was analyzed by SEM and their condition in a specific area was studied for ۱۰ cells for three separate regions on the same specimen using Image J Program software. The in vivo tests provided some useful clinical and pathological information regarding tissue response to the implants with different surface topography.

Keywords:

Ti Alloy , Nd YAG Laser , corrosion , Contact angle , Surface Micro Hardness , cell adhesion