Corrosion of phosphate-enriched titanium oxide surface dental implants (TiUnite) under in vitro inflammatory and hyperglycemic conditions

Corrosion resistance of coupled sandblasted, large-grit, acid-etched (SLA) and anodized Ti implant surfaces in synthetic saliva

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the corrosion resistance of galvanically coupled SLA and anodized implant surfaces with a Co‐Cr alloy.

Materials and Methods

Three groups were included in this study. The first (SLA) was composed of SLA implants (Institut Straumann, Basel, Switzerland), the second (ANO) of NobelReplace® (Nobel Biocare, Göteborg, Sweden), and the third (MIX) of both implant systems combined. All groups were assembled with a single Co‐Cr superstructure. Electrochemical testing included open‐circuit potential, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic potentiodynamic polarization, and chronoamperometric current‐time measurements. The quantitative results (EOCP, ECORR, ICORR, EPROT, RP, and ICA) were statistically analyzed by one‐way ANOVA and Tukey's post‐hoc multiple comparison test (α = 0.05)

Results

All the aforementioned parameters showed statistically significant differences apart from ECORR and EPROT. The evaluation of qualitative and quantitative results showed that although SLA had higher corrosion resistance compared with ANO, it had less resistance to pitting corrosion. This means that SLA showed increased resistance to uniform corrosion but less resistance if pitting corrosion was initiated. In all cases, MIX showed intermediate behavior.

Conclusion

The corrosion resistance of implant‐retained superstructures is dependent on the electrochemical properties of the implants involved, and thus different degrees of intraoral corrosion resistance among different implant systems are anticipated.

Enhanced corrosion resistance of zinc-containing nanowires-modified titanium surface under exposure to oxidizing microenvironment

Titanium (Ti) and its alloys as bio-implants have excellent biocompatibilities and osteogenic properties after modification of chemical composition and topography via various methods. The corrosion resistance of these modified materials is of great importance for changing oral system, while few researches have reported this point. Recently, oxidative corrosion induced by cellular metabolites has been well concerned. In this study, we explored the corrosion behaviors of four common materials (commercially pure Ti, cp-Ti; Sandblasting and acid etching-modified Ti, Ti-SLA; nanowires-modified Ti, Ti-NW; and zinc-containing nanowires-modified Ti, Ti-NW-Zn) with excellent biocompatibilities and osteogenic capacities under the macrophages induced-oxidizing microenvironment. The results showed that the materials immersed into a high oxidizing environment were more vulnerable to corrode. Meanwhile, different surfaces also showed various corrosion susceptibilities under oxidizing condition. Samples embed with zinc element exhibited more excellent corrosion resistance compared with other three surfaces exposure to excessive H₂O₂. Besides, we found that zinc-decorated Ti surfaces inhibited the adhesion and proliferation of macrophages on its surface and induced the M2 states of macrophages to better healing and tissue reconstruction. Most importantly, zinc-decorated Ti surfaces markedly increased the expressions of antioxidant enzyme relative genes in macrophages. It improved the oxidation microenvironment around the materials and further protected their properties. In summary, our results demonstrated that Ti-NW-Zn surfaces not only provided excellent corrosion resistance properties, but also inhibited the adhesion of macrophages. These aspects were necessary for maintaining osseointegration capacity and enhancing the corrosion resistance of Ti in numerous medical applications, particularly in dentistry.

Effects of dextrose and lipopolysaccharide on the corrosion behavior of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy with a smooth surface or treated with double-acid-etching

Diabetes and infections are associated with a high risk of implant failure. However, the effects of such conditions on the electrochemical stability of titanium materials remain unclear. This study evaluated the corrosion behavior of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy, with a smooth surface or conditioned by double-acid-etching, in simulated body fluid with different concentrations of dextrose and lipopolysaccharide. For the electrochemical assay, the open-circuit-potential, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and potentiodynamic test were used. The disc surfaces were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Their surface roughness and Vickers microhardness were also tested. The quantitative data were analyzed by Pearson's correlation and independent t-tests (α = 0.05). In the corrosion parameters, there was a strong lipopolysaccharide correlation with the Ipass (passivation current density), Cdl (double-layer capacitance), and Rp (polarization resistance) values (p<0.05) for the Ti-6Al-4V alloy with surface treatment by double-acid-etching. The combination of dextrose and lipopolysaccharide was correlated with the Icorr (corrosion current density) and Ipass (p<0.05). The acid-treated groups showed a significant increase in Cdl values and reduced Rp values (p<0.05, t-test). According to the topography, there was an increase in surface roughness (R2 = 0.726, p<0.0001 for the smooth surface; R2 = 0.405, p = 0.036 for the double-acid-etching-treated surface). The microhardness of the smooth Ti-6Al-4V alloy decreased (p<0.05) and that of the treated Ti-6Al-4V alloy increased (p<0.0001). Atomic force microscopy showed changes in the microstructure of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy by increasing the surface thickness mainly in the group associated with dextrose and lipopolysaccharide. The combination of dextrose and lipopolysaccharide affected the corrosion behavior of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy surface treated with double-acid-etching. However, no dose-response corrosion behavior could be observed. These results suggest a greater susceptibility to corrosion of titanium implants in diabetic patients with associated infections.