ABSTRACT
This study was undertaken to evaluate the tensile bond strength of In-Ceram alumina core treated by ion assisted reaction(IAR). Ion assisted reaction is a prospective surface modification technique without damage by a keV low energy ion beam irradiation in reactive gas environments or reactive ion itself. 120 In-Ceram specimens were fabricated according to manufacturer's directions and divided into six groups by surface treatment methods of In-Ceram alumina core. SD group(control group): sandblasting SL group: sandblasting + silane treatment SC group: sandblasting + Siloc treatment IAR I group: sandblasting + Ion assisted reaction with argon ion and oxygen gas IAR II group: sandblasting + Ion assisted reaction with oxygen ion and oxygen gas IAR III group: sandblasting + Ion assisted reaction with oxygen ion only For measuring of tensile bond strength, pairs of specimens within a group were bonded with Panavia 21 resin cement using special device secured that the film thickness was 80micrometer. The results of tensile strength were statistically analyzed with the SPSS release version 8.0 programs. Physical change like surface roughness of In-Ceram alumina core treated by ion assisted reaction was evaluated by Contact Angle Measurement, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy; chemical surface change was evaluated by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy. The results as follows: 1. In tensile bond strength, there were no statistically significant differences with SC group, IAR groups and SL group except control group(P<0.05). 2. Contact angle measurement showed that wettability of In-Ceram alumina core was enhanced after IAR treatment. 3. SEM and AFM showed that surface roughness of In-Ceram alumina core was not changed after IAR treatment . 4. XPS showed that IAR treatment of In-Ceram alumina core was enabled to create a new functional layer. A keV IAR treatment of In-Ceram alumina core could enhanced tensile bond strength with resin cement. In the future, this ion assisted reaction may be used effectively in various dental materials as well as in In-Ceram to promote the bond strength to natural tooth structure.