The disadvantages of titanium implants are their low wear resistance and the release of titanium elements into surrounding tissue. These can be eliminated by modifying the surface by surface engineering methods, among them nitriding under glow discharge conditions which allow to produce diffusive surface layers. Their combining with an oxide layer might be valuable for biological events occurring at the bone implant interface. The aim of this study was to enhance the titanium biomaterial performance via combining nitriding and oxidizing treatments in one process under glow discharge conditions. The oxynitrided surface layers were produced at 680 °C. The obtained layer was TiO+TiN+Ti₂N+αTi(N) type and about 4-μm thick and was of diffusive character. This layer significantly increased wear resistance and slightly corrosion resistance compared to that of the reference titanium alloy. The produced titanium oxide was about 400-nm thick and built from fine crystallites. This oxide exhibits bioactivity in SBF (simulated body fluid). Osteoblasts of Saos-2 line incubated on this surface exhibited good adhesion and proliferation and ALP release comparable with cells cultured on the reference titanium alloy and TiN+Ti₂N+αTi(N) surface layers. A quantitative analysis of blood platelets adhering to this layer revealed their highest amount in comparison to that on both the nitrided surface layer and titanium alloy. The presented study provided a simple and reproducible method of combining oxidizing and nitriding under glow discharge in one process. Experimental data in vitro suggests that titanium alloy oxynitriding under low temperatures at glow discharge conditions improves titanium alloy properties and biocompatibility and tissue healing. Therefore, the layer of TiO+TiN+Ti₂N+αTi(N) type could be valuable for long-term bone implants.

The research was focused on alternative treatment techniques, separating immediate and long-term recon-struction stages. The work involved development of ceramic materials dedicated to reconstruction of the temporomandibular joint area. They were based on alumina (aluminum oxide) and characterized by varying porosities. A broad spectrum of studies was conducted to test the proposed material and determine its suitability for mandibular reconstruction. They compared the effects of substrate properties of ceramic materials in terms of biocompatibility, microbiology and systemic toxicity in in vivo studies. Finally it was concluded that Alumina LithaLox 350D is best suited for jawbone implants.

Surface functionalization of materials to improve their hemocompatibility is a challenging problem in the field of blood-contacting devices and implants. Polyelectrolyte multilayer films (PEMs), which can mimic functions and structure of an extracellular matrix (ECM), are a promising solution to the urgent need for functional blood-contacting coatings. The properties of PEMs can be easily tuned in order to provide a scaffold with desired physico-chemical parameters. In this study chitosan/chondroitin sulfate (Chi/CS) polyelectrolyte multilayers were deposited on medical polyurethane. Afterwards PEMs were modified by chemical cross-linking and nanoparticles introduction. Coatings with variable properties were tested for their hemocompatibility in the cone-plate tester under dynamic conditions. The obtained results enable the understanding of how substrate properties modulate PEMs interaction with blood plasma proteins and the morphotic elements.