Artículos SCI

Sterilization with ethylene oxide (EO) and gas plasma (GP) are well-known methods applied to ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) surfaces in the belief that they prevent major material changes caused by gamma irradiation. However, the influence of these surface sterilization methods on bacterial adherence to UHMWPE is unknown. UHMWPE samples with various degrees of roughness (0.3, 0.8 and 2.0 mu m) were sterilized with either GP or EO. The variations in hydrophobicity, surface free energy and surface functional groups were investigated before and after sterilization. Sterilized samples were incubated with either Staphylococcus aureus or Staphylococcus epidermidis in order to study bacterial adherence to these materials. Fewer bacteria adhered to UHMWPE after sterilization with EO than after sterilization with GP, especially to the smoothest surfaces. No changes in chemical composition of the UHMWPE surface due to sterilization were observed using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy analysis. The decreased bacterial adherence to UHMWPE found at the smoothest surfaces after sterilization with EO was not directly related to changes in chemical composition. Increased bacterial adherence to rougher surfaces was associated with increased polar surface energy of EO-sterilized surfaces.

The tribological performance of nanocomposite coatings containing Ti-B-C phases and amorphous carbon (a-C) are studied. The coatings are deposited by a sputtering process from a sintered TiB2:TiC target and graphite, using pulsed direct current and radio frequency sources. By varying the sputtering power ratio, the amorphous carbon content of the coatings can be tuned, as observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy. The crystalline component consists of very disordered crystals with a mixture of TiB2/TiC or TiBxCy phases. A slight increase in crystalline order is detected with the incorporation of carbon in the coatings that is attributed to the formation of a ternary TiBxCy phase. An estimation of the carbon present in the form of carbide (TiBxCy or TiC) and amorphous (a-C) is performed using fitting analysis of the C 1s XPS peak. The film hardness (22 to 31 GPa) correlates with the fraction of the TiBxCy phase that exists in the coatings. The tribological properties were measured by a pin-on-disk tribometer in ambient conditions, using 6 mm tungsten carbide balls at 1 N. The friction coefficients and the wear rates show similar behavior, exhibiting an optimum when the fraction of C atoms in the amorphous phase is near 50%. This composition enables significant improvement of the friction coefficients and wear rates (mu similar to 0.1; k < 1 x 10(-6) mm(3)/Nm), while maintaining a good value of hardness (24.6 GPa). Establishing the correlation between the lubricant properties and the fraction of a-C is very useful for purposes of tailoring the protective character of these nanocomposite coatings to engineering applications.