Effects of surface topography through laser texturing on the surface characteristics of zirconia-based dental materials: surface hydrophobicity, antibacterial behavior, and cellular response

The continuous need for high-performance implants that provide significant biological properties has led to extensive research into the topographic patterns of bioceramics in recent years. Their excellent aesthetics, biocompatibility, low plaque affinity, and ability to reproduce a natural-looking appearance have contributed to their success in dentistry. 3 mol% Yttria-stabilized zirconia (3YSZ) is gaining popularity as a material for dental implants due to its excellent mechanical properties and minimal degradation when exposed to body temperature. However, such materials show limited biological and antibacterial performance for dental applications. The purpose of this work was to develop microtopographies on the surface of 3YSZ ceramic by laser ablation technique, in order to improve its biological response and antibacterial behaviors. Two types of microtextures, including micro-grooves and micro-channels geometries were fabricated onto the zirconia ceramics using the laser ablation technique. The effects of different microtextures on the wettability, biological and antibacterial behaviors of 3YSZ ceramics were studied. The results indicate that all of the microstructure patterns are capable of improving the performance of 3YSZ. Wettability is a decisive factor that determines the antibacterial performance of textured zirconia ceramics. The microtextured surfaces all display hydrophobic behavior, thus yielding an effective improvement of antibacterial performance for 3YSZ ceramics. Cell-surface interactions were assessed for 7 days on both zirconia textured surfaces and a nontextured control with pre-osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells. The obtained results showed the positive influence of textured zirconia surfaces on cell biological response.