F. Hartung1,*, H. Seitz1,2 G. Schnell1

1 Chair of Microfluidics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Technology, University of Rostock, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 6, 18059 Rostock, Germany,

2 Department Life, Light & Matter, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Str. 25, 18059 Rostock, Germany

*fiona.hartung@uni-rostock.de

The attachment of the hard and soft tissue is an essential factor for the successful integration of dental implants. A significant problem when aiming for successful ingrowth is the inflammation of the dental bed, known as Periimplantitis. Periimplantitis is typically triggered by a biofilm formation of periodontal-pathogenic germs, leading to insufficient healing or bone resorption (Osteolysis).

Surface roughness and wetting are key features to improve the ingrowth behavior and face periimplantitis. Using femtosecond laser texturing, we aim to control both surface properties on a solder glass-zirconia double layer as a relatively new substrate in dental applications.

The solder glass-zirconia double-layer substrate features a new challenge in femtosecond laser processing since processing parameters must be finely adjusted to keep the bonding of both materials unaltered. Furthermore, the top solder glass layer features a relatively low softening point, resulting in an early formation of melt during laser treatment. Moreover, different light-material interactions on the top solder glass layer are present compared to well-known metal or ceramic substrates, resulting in new physical and chemical surface properties.

Preliminary experiments with varying laser parameters for surface structuring of the top solder glass layer show the occurrence of two different surface morphologies. On the one hand, periodic sand wave-like structures are generated at a relatively low fluence and high scanning pulse overlap from PO=80 to 90 % and a scanning line overlap LO of 50 %. On the other hand, at high fluences and a line overlap of up to 80 %, cauliflower-like structure can be observed.

Both surface morphologies (periodic sand wave-like and cauliflower-like structures) represent a potential way to modify the solder glass surface to tailor hard and soft tissue ingrowth and simultaneously realize anti-adhesive properties for pathogens in dental applications. Further investigations will address the wetting and biological properties of both surface morphologies generated by femtosecond laser treatment.