White-Ceramic Conversion on Ti-29Nb-13Ta-4.6Zr Surface for Dental Applications

• Published in: Advances in materials science and engineering Vol. 2013; no. 2013; pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Obata, Akiko, Miura-Fujiwara, Eri, Shimizu, Akimitsu, Maeda, Hirotaka, Nakai, Masaaki, Watanabe, Yoshimi, Niinomi, Mitsuo, Kasuga, Toshihiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Puplishing Corporation 01.01.2013; Hindawi Publishing Corporation; Wiley
• Subjects: Bones; Dental materials; Heat treatment; Roughness; Spreading; Titanium base alloys; Titanium dioxide; Wettability
• ISSN: 1687-8434; 1687-8442
• DOI: 10.1155/2013/501621

Ti-29Nb-13Ta-4.6Zr (TNTZ) alloy has excellent mechanical properties and bone conductivity. For dental application, TNTZ surfaces were converted to white oxidized layer by a simple heat treatment in air to achieve the formation of aesthetic surfaces. The oxidized layer formed by the heat treatment at 1000°C for 0.5 or 1 hr was whiter and joined to TNTZ substrate more strongly than that formed by the treatment at 900°C. The layer consisted of TiO2 (rutile), TiNb2O7, and TiTa2O7 and possessed ~30 μm in thickness for the sample heat-treated at 1000°C and ~10 μm for that heat-treated at 900°C. The surface average roughness and the wettability increased after the heat treatment. The spreading and proliferation level of mouse osteoblast-like cell (MC3T3-E1 cell) on the heat-treated sample were almost the same as those on as-prepared one. The cell spreading on TNTZ was better than those on pure titanium (CP Ti) regardless of the heat treatment for the samples. There was no deterioration in the in vitro cell compatibility of TNTZ after the oxidized layer coating by the heat treatment.