Porous Micro/Nano Structured Oxidic Titanium Surface Decorated With Silicon Monoxide

Novel types of titanium oxidic surfaces were fabricated by a shifted Laser Surface Texturing of titanium in air, producing porous micro/nanostructured topography, and by a subsequent Nd:YAG laser-induced reactive deposition of Ti5Si3 titanium silicide in vacuum, coating this topography with scattered sub-micron particles of silicon monoxide. Both surfaces are characterized by XRD, electron microscopy and FTIR, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and the second laser-induced process is inferred to involve a yet unreported redox path between Ti5Si3 (Si) and oxidized titanium surface. Both pristine and SiO-modified laser-structured surfaces were examined for the response of human SCP-1 and murine MC3T3 cells and found biocompatible in terms of cell survival, proliferation and cell morphology. The combined use of two different lasers may encourage further research on the development of new micro/nanostructured titanium surfaces enriched with nanosized entities.