Papers by Author: S. Eugénio

Abstract: Biocompatibility has long been associated with surface microtopography, microtexture and microchemistry. The surface topography ultimately affects the nature and the strength of the interactions that occur at biomaterial-biological environment (cell adhesion, mobility, spreading and proliferation). Thus, it is necessary to produce and work with controlled microtopographical surfaces that present reproducible microdomains of a dimension similar to that of the biological elements of interest (for instance, cells). [1] There are a number of substrates that already have been studied (such as silicone, polystyrene, poly-L-lactic acid and titanium coated polystyrene) in terms of surface topography. [2] However, few studies are related to hydroxyapatite substrates. As it is well established, hydroxyapatite is a well known ceramic that is extremely used in medical applications, namely implants and coatings. In this work, the surface topography of dense hydroxyapatite substrates was altered by using KFr excimer laser. Excimer lasers produce high-intensity, pulsed ultraviolet radiation and are especially well suited for materials processing due to their large beam cross-section area, which permits using mask projection technologies to process relatively large areas in a single step.[3]

Abstract: In the present work, dentin samples extracted from human molar teeth were treated with 248 nm wavelength pulsed laser radiation at fluences between 0.5 and 20 J/cm2. The surfaces were characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and x-photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Two distinct behaviours were observed in what concerns the evolution of surface morphology with fluence and number of pulses. In some samples the surface remained flat, independently of the fluence and covered by a layer of resolidified material and redeposited ablation particles, which often occluded the dentinal structure. In other samples the surface topography depended on radiation fluence. For fluences below 1 J/cm2, intertubular dentin was preferentially removed, originating a columnar structure where columns were centred on the dentinal tubules and constituted by peritubular dentin. The height of the columns increased with the number of laser pulses. When fluence exceeded 1 J/cm2 the processed surface remained flat, covered with a fine resolidified layer. These distinct behaviours of dentin can be explained by differences in the constitution of this composite biological material. Despite the topographic changes observed, the mineral phase of dentin (apatite) remained unaltered and collagen was removed only from the outermost superficial layers of the processed material. This fact is explained by the constitution and structure of dentin and by the physical properties and electronic structure of its main constituents. Taking into consideration the results obtained and the bond type and properties of the constituents of dentin, it is suggested that the ablation of collagen occurs by a photochemical mechanism while the ablation of apatite is photothermal.