e1
QUESTIONS
1. Scan the table of contents and abstracts from the last
three issues of the Journal of Biomedical Materials
Research or Biomaterials. List all the surface analy-
sis methods used in the articles therein and briefly
describe what was learned by using them.
inconsistencies are noted, explain those inconsisten-
cies using Table 2.
3. A titanium dental implant was manufactured by the
Biomatter Company for the past eight years. It per-
CHAPTER I.1.5
Surface Properties and Surface Characterization
of Biomaterials
TABLE 1 Critical Surface Tension Values
for Common Polymeric Materials
Calculated from Contact Angle
Measurements
Material
Critical Surface
Tension (dynes/cm)
Polytetrafluoroethylene 19
Poly(dimethyl siloxane) 24
Poly(vinylidine fluoride) 25
Poly(vinyl fluoride) 28
TABLE 2 Concerns in Contact Angle
Measurement
• The measurement is operator dependent (for manual,
goniometer instruments)
• Surface roughness influences the results
• Surface heterogeneity influences the results
• The liquids used can dissolve the surface
• Few sample geometries are appropriate for contact angle
measurement
• Information on surface structure must be inferred from the data
obtained