Laser manufacturing of multi-functional and antibacterial surfaces for orthopaedic applications
type: CreativeWork
description: With an increasingly aging population across the globe, there is an increased demand for implantable medical devices to treat long-term health conditions and injuries. Patients with implantable devices such as joint prosthesis, trauma fixation dental implants have a risk of experiencing device associated infection (DAI) which is caused by bacteria attaching to the associated device and forming antibiotic tolerant biofilms1. Attributable mortality rate of DAI across a range of devices can be as high as 25% and treatment is often costly with a much higher chance of reoccurring infections after the first one1. Laser surface treatment of commercially pure titanium (cp Ti or medical grade 2), which is a commonly used material in medical devices has been shown to improve response to bacteria attempting to attach to the surface2. The aim of this work was to investigate how laser treatment in an open-air environment made changes to the surface of cp Ti, the bacterial response to these changes and to propose a mechanism of this improved response to bacterial attachment. Surface characteristics to cp Ti were investigated before and after laser treatment in open air assisted via argon gas. Characterisation was conducted in terms of topography and roughness (SEM, WLI and AFM), surface chemistry (XPS and ToF-SIMS), phase composition (XRD), microstructure (SEM) and wettability (contact angle). The biofilm coverage of multiple species, S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa and P. mirabilis was measured via Live/Dead staining. SEM and FEG-SEM techniques were used to assess the position of bacteria and biofilms on the surface and FIB techniques were used to investigate the bacteria-material interface.Open-air laser surface treatment via a continuous wave laser assisted by argon gas was conducted on as received (AR) cp Ti at laser energy densities of 13.9 J/mm2 (LP), 19.8 J/mm2 (MP) and 28.2 J/mm2 (HP). Laser surface treatment changed both the micro and nano-topography of…
abstract: With an increasingly aging population across the globe, there is an increased demand for implantable medical devices to treat long-term health conditions and injuries. Patients with implantable devices such as joint prosthesis, trauma fixation dental implants have a risk of experiencing device associated infection (DAI) which is caused by bacteria attaching to the associated device and forming antibiotic tolerant biofilms1. Attributable mortality rate of DAI across a range of devices can be as high as 25% and treatment is often costly with a much higher chance of reoccurring infections after the first one1. Laser surface treatment of commercially pure titanium (cp Ti or medical grade 2), which is a commonly used material in medical devices has been shown to improve response to bacteria attempting to attach to the surface2. The aim of this work was to investigate how laser treatment in an open-air environment made changes to the surface of cp Ti, the bacterial response to these changes and to propose a mechanism of this improved response to bacterial attachment. Surface characteristics to cp Ti were investigated before and after laser treatment in open air assisted via argon gas. Characterisation was conducted in terms of topography and roughness (SEM, WLI and AFM), surface chemistry (XPS and ToF-SIMS), phase composition (XRD), microstructure (SEM) and wettability (contact angle). The biofilm coverage of multiple species, S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. coli, P. aeruginosa and P. mirabilis was measured via Live/Dead staining. SEM and FEG-SEM techniques were used to assess the position of bacteria and biofilms on the surface and FIB techniques were used to investigate the bacteria-material interface.Open-air laser surface treatment via a continuous wave laser assisted by argon gas was conducted on as received (AR) cp Ti at laser energy densities of 13.9 J/mm2 (LP), 19.8 J/mm2 (MP) and 28.2 J/mm2 (HP). Laser surface treatment changed both the micro and nano-topography of…
author: McFadden, Ryan
language: eng
keywords: Laser processing, titanium, material characterisation, biofilms, bacteria, surface treatment
date published: 2021-7
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:55:58Z
provider: Queen's University Belfast
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Queen's University Belfast