Characterizing Surface Morphological and Chemical Properties of Commonly Used Orthopedic Implant Materials and Determining Their Clinical Significance

Bertalan Jillek; Péter Szabó; Judit Kopniczky; Olga Krafcsik; István Szabó; Balázs Patczai; Kinga Turzó

doi:10.3390/polym16091193

Characterizing Surface Morphological and Chemical Properties of Commonly Used Orthopedic Implant Materials and Determining Their Clinical Significance

Polymers (Basel). 2024 Apr 24;16(9):1193. doi: 10.3390/polym16091193.

Authors

Bertalan Jillek¹, Péter Szabó², Judit Kopniczky³, Olga Krafcsik⁴, István Szabó¹, Balázs Patczai⁵, Kinga Turzó⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopedics, Somogy County Mór Kaposi Teaching Hospital, Tallián Gyula u. 20-32, H-7400 Kaposvár, Hungary.
² Szentágothai Research Center, Environmental Analytical and Geoanalytical Research Group, Ifjúság útja 20., H-7624 Pécs, Hungary.
³ Department of Optics and Quantum Electronics, University of Szeged, Dóm tér 9., H-6720 Szeged, Hungary.
⁴ Department of Atomic Physics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budafoki út 8., H-1111 Budapest, Hungary.
⁵ Department of Traumatology and Hand Surgery, University of Pécs, Ifjúság u. 13., H-7624 Pécs, Hungary.
⁶ Dental School, Medical Faculty, University of Pécs, Tüzér u. 1, H-7623 Pécs, Hungary.

Abstract

The goal of the study was to compare the surface characteristics of typical implant materials used in orthopedic surgery and traumatology, as these determine their successful biointegration. The morphological and chemical structure of Vortex plate anodized titanium from commercially pure (CP) Grade 2 Titanium (Ti2) is generally used in the following; non-cemented total hip replacement (THR) stem and cup Ti alloy (Ti6Al4V) with titanium plasma spray (TPS) coating; cemented THR stem Stainless steel (SS); total knee replacement (TKR) femoral component CoCrMo alloy (CoCr); cemented acetabular component from highly cross-linked ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (HXL); and cementless acetabular liner from ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) (Sanatmetal, Ltd., Eger, Hungary) discs, all of which were examined. Visualization and elemental analysis were carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Surface roughness was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and profilometry. TPS Ti presented the highest R_a value (25 ± 2 μm), followed by CoCr (535 ± 19 nm), Ti2 (227 ± 15 nm) and SS (170 ± 11 nm). The roughness measured in the HXL and UHMWPE surfaces was in the same range, 147 ± 13 nm and 144 ± 15 nm, respectively. EDS confirmed typical elements regarding the investigated prosthesis materials. XPS results supported the EDS results and revealed a high % of Ti⁴⁺ on Ti2 and TPS surfaces. The results indicate that the surfaces of prosthesis materials have significantly different features, and a detailed characterization is needed to successfully apply them in orthopedic surgery and traumatology.

Keywords: chemical composition; orthopedic implants; roughness; surface characterization; surface morphology.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the projects entitled “ÁOK-TANDEM_palyazat_2019_09_16_ Turzó Kinga” and “ÁOK-TANDEM_palyazat_2023_04_04_Turzó Kinga” sustained by the University of Pécs, Medical Faculty. This work was supported by the Project no. TKP2021-NVA-06 has been implemented with the support provided from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund of Hungary, financed under the TKP2021-NVA funding scheme.