Chemical treatment of machined titanium surfaces. An in vitro study

Microbial plaque accumulation on titanium dental implant surfaces can result in an inflammatory condition of the surrounding tissues. Cleaning of such a contaminated surface, in vivo, by means of a solution of amino-alcohol, following surgical exposure, has been proposed. However, the tissue healing following treatment resulted in formation of a fibrous capsule at the tissue-implant interface, i.e. improper implant re-integration. The present experiment was designed to investigate the possible influence of an amino-alcohol solution on machined titanium surface properties. Titanium samples with topography and chemical composition similar to the clinically used Brånemark implant surfaces were used in this experimental in-vitro study to investigate the adsorption of amino-alcohol to such surfaces, and the possibilities to chemically remove the adsorbed alcohols in order to recover a pristine titanium surface. The amino-alcohol solution was supplied to the sample surfaces and four different methods were subsequently used in order to remove the adsorbed alcohol molecules. It was shown that rinsing in water, saline solution, and 5% H2O2 did not remove the amino-alcohol from the surface. However, exposure to ozone produced by using a commercial mercury lamp in ambient air resulted in complete removal of the adsorbed amino-alcohol. The results show that the amino-alcohol used forms a stable and dense film at the implant surface in vitro. Presence of such a film most likely prevents re-integration to occur at the implant-tissue interface in vivo.