Surface Investigation of Biomaterials by Electron Spectroscopies

The role of the surface in biomaterials is relevant because most of biochemical reactions occur at their surface or interface. For instance, the chemical composition and structure of the surface of biomaterials can affect the biocompatibily with human tissues. Accordingly, the surface investigation techniques assume an important aspect in the development of biomaterials. There are many techniques employed to investigate the surface of biomaterials, but only a few of them provide information about the chemical composition of materials. Electron spectroscopies for chemical analysis (ESCA) represent the most valuable method for investigating the chemical composition of biomaterials by probing the first layer of the materials, below 10 nm. The advantage of these techniques lies in the opportunity to determine the chemical composition and its evolution in the different environments, providing the oxidation state of the elements and quantifying their abundance. In this presentation, an overview on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) will be illustrated. These techniques have been successfully employed for the investigation of metallic dental implant, antibacterial hydroxyapatite films, enzymes, etc.