Caramês, João Manuel MendezMoreira, André Gonçalo Coutinho Rodrigues2021-02-112021-02-112020-062020-04http://hdl.handle.net/10451/46281Objectives: Evaluate the chemical composition, microstructure, wettability, roughness, adhesion quality and structural integrity of three micropatterned silica (SiO2) coatings for zirconia substrates, and to compare their in vivo bone-to-implant contact (BIC) with the non-coated zirconia surface (3Y-TZP), in order to evaluate the effects of micropatterning on osseointegration. Materials and methods: Three micropatterned SiO2 coatings (flat, lines and pillars topographies) produced by soft lithography and sol-gel, and 3Y-TZP surface were analysed by SEM/EDS, XRD, contact and non-contact profilometry, wettability, scratch resistance and friction test. Zirconia discs with each of the surfaces were placed on tibias of 12 white New Zealand rabbits. Two healing periods were established: 4 and 8 weeks. Histomorphometric evaluation with the measurement of BIC was performed. Comparisons among the groups or within the groups were performed by independent t-test, ANOVA. Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for analysis. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Lines and pillars coatings showed the highest roughness Ra values of all tested surfaces. For distilled water, the lines coating generated the most hydrophilic surface. The adhesion strength of silica coatings on zirconia was higher for lines and pillars surfaces. Pillars coating has a tendency to the higher initial coefficient of friction. The integrity and topography characteristics were not significantly affected after friction test. SiO2 coated surfaces exhibited significantly higher BIC values for cortical and medullary bone after 4 weeks, and for cortical bone after 8 weeks. The pillars micropatterned surface presented the highest total BIC values after 4 and 8 weeks of healing. Conclusions: Sol-gel and soft-lithography techniques can successful produce micropatterned silica coatings with well-defined geometries. The pillars micropatterned surface seems to show a higher degree of osseointegration than all other surfaces. Surface micropatterning may be a viable alternative for surface modification of zirconia implants.engzirconiadental implantscoatingssilicasurface modificationsosseointegrationdoctoral thesis101379145