We are very glad to announce that the scientific team led by Prof. Teodor Gotszalk (Wrocław University of Science and Technology) has developed a new AFM-based method employing an active piezoresistive cantilever for nanoscale wear induction and measurement.
📄 The study, published in Materials as “Wear Measurements in Cylindrical Telescopic Crowns Using an Active Piezoresistive Cantilever with an Integrated Gold Microsphere Probe”, demonstrates how AFM can be used both as a high-resolution measurement tool and as a means of surface wear.
👉 https://lnkd.in/gpnes2pV
The authors describe the methodology along with the metrological advantages of this approach, highlighting its supreme resolution of volume measurement (down to 1 μm³). The scientists investigated the wear behavior between prosthetic gold alloy (Degulor M) and FGP polymeric material at the nanoscale. For this purpose, they modified the active piezoresistive cantilever by replacing the original tip with a Degulor M microsphere. The wear process was performed in reciprocal motion over the length of 5 μm in 35,000 repetitions, mimicking the actual conditions occurring in the human oral cavity.
The paper shows that by focusing on a small contact area, this AFM-based approach reduces wear-measurement time from long-term studies to just a few minutes. The measured data revealed a consistent relationship between wear energy and wear volume, with exemplary results confirming the durability of the FGP–Degulor M mechanical contact and the strengthening of the mechanical contact as the polymer surface becomes rougher.
💡 This innovative method demonstrates how active cantilevers can bridge nanometrology and biomedical tribology, providing new insights into the mechanical durability of dental prosthetic materials.
Congratulations to the authors on this achievement! 👏