Surface treatment of 45S5 Bioglass using femtosecond laser to achieve superior growth of hydroxyapatite

Abstract

45S5 Hench bioglass (BG) has gained interest in research because of its potential clinical applications. Several studies in-vivo and in-vitro have been in progress to improve biointegration efficiency of this glass. In present contribution, surface modification of Hench BG has been done employing a femtosecond (fs) laser beam, resulting in increased effective surface area of the sample. These surface modified samples were subsequently immersed in simulated body fluid for varying number of days and characterized using scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, and micro-Raman spectroscopy. In-vitro studies indicated superior growth of hydroxyapatite (HAP) layer on the laser treated samples in comparison to the untreated samples. The presence of strong X-ray diffraction peaks confirmed faster growth of HAP on laser treated samples. Raman peaks, five times more intense and relatively narrower represented higher crystallinity of hydroxyapatite layer on laser treated BG.