Tailoring surface wettability of TZP bioceramics by UV picosecond laser micro-fabrication

Controlled wettability of liquids on bioceramic surfaces has recently received widespread attention. Here, tunable wettability of yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y-TZP, 3 mol% yttria) bioceramic surface was achieved by ultrafast laser micro-fabrication. Two surface microstructures, arc grooves and square pillar arrays, were designed based on the Wenzel and Cassie model, and then fabricated by 355 nm picosecond laser with high controllability and quality. The contact angle of the treated surface was tunable from superhydrophilicity (10°) to hydrophobicity (133°) by changing the microstructure characteristics with laser processing. The microstructures with uniform size, crack-free, smooth edges and alleviated taper were achieved. In addition, the laser-treated Y-TZP ceramic surfaces were biocompatible for cell adhesion and growth. The range of the optimized parameters was also determined based on the study of the interaction of the laser with the Y-TZP ceramics.