Dual alkali etching for osseointegration and reduced bacterial adhesion: a feasible alternative to SLA

Abstract

Titanium and its alloys stand out as the preferred materials for crafting implant prostheses. However, there exists a need to enhance the surface physicochemical properties of titanium alloys to optimize their surface activity as implant materials. While various surface modification techniques demand intricate and costly infrastructure, our study introduces a simple solution – a straightforward dual alkali treatment for titanium alloys. This approach aimed to establish a simple method for achieving osseointegration while also enhancing the bacteriostatic nature of the material. In our investigation, Ti-6Al-4V  samples were subject to sequential treatment with NH₄OH and NaOH for 24 hours at room temperature and vice versa. Subsequent analyses employing XRD, SEM, XPS, and optical profilometry, were performed to examine the effect of the treatment on the morphology and phase composition of the treated samples. The modified samples exhibited satisfactory bioactivity coupled with enhanced bacteriostatic behavior.