Surface engineering of LENS-Ti-6Al-4V to obtain nano- and micro-surface topography for orthopedic application.

Two distinct surface topographies consisting of micro- and nano-surface were developed using laser texturing (LT) and anodization process respectively and their effect on the surface-related properties of Ti-6Al-4V fabricated using Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) were determined. The topographies developed using laser texturing (25, 50 and 75% overlap) were examined using 3D profilometer, whereas, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) was used to analyze Titania NanoTubes (TNT) formed using anodization. Though all the surface modified specimens exhibited hydrophilic behavior, least contact angle values were observed for the specimen surface modified with TNT. 25LT and 50LT specimens offered about 8 fold higher corrosion resistance than TNT specimens. All the surface modified samples exhibited non-toxicity to blood cells as well as to the mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) with a higher rate of proliferation and differentiation hMSCs observed on 75LT specimens and TNT specimen.