Apatite-Forming Ability of Polymer Substrates Irradiated by Oxygen Cluster Ion Beams

Polyethylene (PE) substrates were irradiated at a dose of 1×1015 ions·cm−2 by the simultaneous use of oxygen (O2) cluster and monomer ion beams. The acceleration voltage for the ion beams was 7 kV. Unirradiated and irradiated PE substrates were soaked in simulated body fluid with ion concentrations 1.5 times of those of human blood plasma (1.5SBF) for 7 days. The irradiated PE substrate formed apatite on its surface, whereas unirradiated one did not form it. This is attributed to the formation of functional groups effective for apatite nucleation, such as COOH groups, on the substrate surface by the simultaneous use of O2 cluster and monomer ion beams. In addition, the apatite-forming ability of the irradiated substrate was improved by the subsequent CaCl2 treatment. This suggests that Ca2+ ions present on the substrate surface accelerated the apatite deposition. We can conclude that apatite-forming ability can be induced on surface of polyethylene by the simultaneous use of O2 cluster and monomer ion beams.