Surface Micropatterning of Pure Titanium for Biomedical Applications Via High Energy Pulse Laser Peening

Pure titanium is an ideal material for biomedical implant applications for its superior biocompatibility, but it lacks of the mechanical strength required in these applications compared with titanium alloys. This research is concerned with an innovative laser peening-based material process to improve the mechanical strength and cell attachment property of pure titanium in biomedical applications. Evidence has shown that engineered surface with unsmooth topologies will contribute to the osteoblast differentiation in human mesenchymal pre-osteoblastic cells, which is helpful to avoid long-term peri-abutment inflammation issues for the dental implant therapy with transcutaneous devices. However, surface quality is difficult to control or mechanical strength is not enhanced using conventional approaches. In this paper, a novel high energy pulse laser peening (HEPLP) process is proposed to both improve the mechanical strength and introduce a micropattern into the biomedical implant material of a commercially pure Titanium (cpTi). The strong shock wave generated by HEPLP presses a stainless steel grid, used as a stamp, on cpTi foils to imprint a micropattern. To understand the basic science during the process, the HEPLP induced shock wave pressure profile and history are modeled by a multiphysics hydrodynamic numerical analysis. The micropatterns and strength enhancement are then simulated using a dislocation density-based finite element (FE) framework. Finally, cell culture tests are conducted to investigate the biomedical performance of the patterned surface.