Interaction of CO2, Nd:YAG, excimer and high-power diode laser (HPDL) radiation with the surface of the biomaterial polyethylene (PE), was found to effect varying degrees of change to the wettability characteristics of the material depending upon the laser used. It was observed that interaction with CO2, Nd:YAG and HPDL effected very little change to the wettability characteristics of the PE. In contrast, interaction of the PE with excimer laser radiation resulted in a marked improvement in the wettability characteristics. After excimer laser treatment, the surface O2 content was found to have increased and the material was seen to be more polar in nature, resulting in a significant increase in the wettability characteristics. The work has shown that the wettability characteristics of the PE could be controlled and/or modified with laser surface treatment. However, a wavelength dependence of the change in the wetting properties could not be deduced from the findings of this work.
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