Thierry B, Tabrizian M, Savadogo O, Yahia L
Biomedical Engineering Institute, Mechanical Engineering Department, Biomaterial/Biomechanics Research Group (BBRG), Ecole Polytechnique of Montreal, Quebec H3C 3A7, Canada.
J Biomed Mater Res. 2000 Jan;49(1):88-98. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4636(200001)49:1<88::aid-jbm11>3.0.co;2-i.
Sterilization is required for using any device in contact with the human body. Numerous authors have studied device properties after sterilization and reported on bulk and surface modifications of many materials after processing. These surface modifications may in turn influence device biocompatibility. Still, data are missing on the effect of sterilization procedures on new biomaterials such as nickel-titanium (NiTi). Herein we report on the effect of dry heat, steam autoclaving, ethylene oxide, peracetic acid, and plasma-based sterilization techniques on the surface properties of NiTi. After processing electropolished NiTi disks with these techniques, surface analyses were performed by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and contact angle measurements. AES analyses revealed a higher Ni concentration (6-7 vs. 1%) and a slightly thicker oxide layer on the surface for heat and ethylene oxide processed materials. Studies of surface topography by AFM showed up to a threefold increase of the surface roughness when disks were dry heat sterilized. An increase of the surface energy of up to 100% was calculated for plasma treated surfaces. Our results point out that some surface modifications are induced by sterilization procedures. Further work is required to assess the effect of these modifications on biocompatibility, and to determine the most appropriate methods to sterilize NiTi.
使用任何与人体接触的器械都需要进行灭菌处理。许多作者研究了灭菌后器械的性能，并报告了许多材料在加工后的整体和表面改性情况。这些表面改性反过来可能会影响器械的生物相容性。然而，关于灭菌程序对镍钛（NiTi）等新型生物材料的影响的数据仍然缺失。在此，我们报告干热、蒸汽高压灭菌、环氧乙烷、过氧乙酸和基于等离子体的灭菌技术对NiTi表面性能的影响。用这些技术处理电解抛光的NiTi圆盘后，通过俄歇电子能谱（AES）、原子力显微镜（AFM）和接触角测量进行表面分析。AES分析表明，经过加热和环氧乙烷处理的材料表面镍浓度较高（6 - 7% 对比 1%），且氧化层略厚。AFM对表面形貌的研究表明，当圆盘进行干热灭菌时，表面粗糙度增加了两倍。经计算，等离子体处理的表面表面能增加高达100%。我们的结果指出，灭菌程序会引起一些表面改性。需要进一步开展工作来评估这些改性对生物相容性的影响，并确定最适合NiTi的灭菌方法。
