We present recent results using ions such as C., O, Si, Fe, Zn, and Au at
energies between 100 keV to 10 MeV to increase the roughness and porosity of
the partially and fully cured precursor phenolic resins. The fully cured
phenolic resin is called Glassy Polymeric Carbon (GPC). GPC is chemically
inert, biocompatible and useful for medical applications, such as heart
valves and other prosthetic devices. Ion implantation enhances biological
cell/tissue growth on, and tissue adhesion to, prosthetic devices made from
GPC. We have previously shown that increased porosity of GPC is also useful
for drug delivery devices. The porosity of the ion implanted partially and
fully cured precursor phenolic resins was measured by introducing lithium
from a molten LiCl salt into each sample. By using Li(p,2α) nuclear reaction
analysis (NRA) we measured the concentration of Li retention in the pre- and
post-implanted samples. The surface roughness was measured using optical
microscopy. The curing process was monitored using micro-Raman microscopy.
We have correlated the NRA measurements of increased pore availability with
the observations of increased surface roughness.