Radio frequency sputtering of self-sanitizing material on NiTi archwires
الباحث الأول:
Mahmood Shakir Naser
الباحثين الآخرين:
Emad Al-Hassani and Fatima Al-Hassani
المجلة:
BIOMATERIAL INVESTIGATIONS IN DENTISTRY
تاريخ النشر:
11 ديسمبر، 2025
مختصر البحث:
Objective: The objective of this study was to coat orthodontic nickel titanium (NiTi) archwires with
nano-particles (NP) of silver (Ag) combined with nano polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to produce a smooth
antimicrobial nanocomposite layer by usin…
Objective: The objective of this study was to coat orthodontic nickel titanium (NiTi) archwires with
nano-particles (NP) of silver (Ag) combined with nano polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to produce a smooth
antimicrobial nanocomposite layer by using a radio frequency (RF) sputtering process and to evaluate the
coated surfaces in terms of morphology, nano-roughness, adhesion strength, hardness, and antimicrobial
activity.
Materials and methods: Super-elastic NiTi archwires (diameter = 0.4 mm, length = 160 mm) were surface
cleaned and sterilized prior to the RF sputtering, using a mixture of nano Ag powder (20 nm; purity >
99.95%) and PTFE powder (25 nm; purity > 99.95%). X-ray diffraction apparatus (XRD), flex atomic force
microscopy (AFM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) were used to characterize the
morphology and nano roughness of the coated archwires. Lactobacillus acidophilus (L. acidophilus) and
Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) were selected to evaluate the antimicrobial activity.
Results: A uniform and homogeneous nanocomposite coating was obtained without agglomeration.
Surface roughness values decreased with increasing sputtering time, while the coated samples exhibited
excellent antibacterial activity against both bacterial strains. AFM analysis demonstrated that sputtering
time strongly influenced adhesion resistance, hardness, and coating stability, and the antibacterial activity
was highly effective against both L. acidophilus and S. mutans.
Conclusion: The sputtering time of 30 min gave a smooth coating layer on the surface of NiTi archwire
with strong antimicrobial resistance that offers significant potential for dental applications.
