The influence of the operating parameters of titanium electropolishing to obtain nanostructured titanium surfaces

Titanium and Ti alloys have been widely used as biomaterial due to their mechanical properties and high in vitro and in vivo cytocompatibility. Studies have showed that the acceleration of the osseointegration process is associated to the modification of the surface morphology. The aim of this work is to study the influence of the operating parameters of titanium electropolishing to obtain nanostructured titanium surfaces. The titanium electropolishing was carried out with different temperatures (7 degrees C, 18 degrees C and 25 degrees C), current density of 0.19 A/cm(2) and electropolishing time of 8 minutes. After the electropolishing process the titanium samples were characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy, profilometry (mechanical profilometer) and contact angle measurements. Preliminary results showed that the Ti nanostructured surfaces formation, strongly depends on the control of operating parameters.