Experimental Evaluation of Implant Surface Chemistry

Abstract

The clinical outcome of implants is highly dependent on the surface properties of the implant material. Therefore, it is of outermost importance to accurately perform and interpret surface analyses. Different analytical tools give distinctive information about the surface at different depths and spatial resolutions. Knowledge about the working principles and strengths and weaknesses of the techniques is important to understand. Since it is the surface atoms of the implant that are in direct contact with the tissue, it is crucial that the proper techniques are chosen, which have the desired surface sensitivity. In this chapter, the most important and most frequently used surface analytical techniques of today’s implant research are briefly reviewed. The modus operandi, the used notation, and the information that is acquired for the following techniques are included: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX or EDS), and contact angle (CA).