Abstract
Harmful lesions occur in the body around multielement stabilisers made of AISI 316 LVM (Low Vacuum Melted) steel, caused by products of pitting, fretting or crevice corrosion. Preventing the effect is possible by modifying the surface of the steel implants. Therefore, the goal of the paper is the comparison of the mechanical and physiochemical properties of plates for treating deformations of the anterior chest wall made of AISI 316 LVM steel, subjected to diffusion and sterilisation processes and exposed to Ringer’s solution. The surface of the implants was subjected to electrochemical polishing, chemical passivation and, in order to modify their properties, nitrocarburised and nitrided diffusion layers were created on selected stabilisers under glow discharge conditions with the use of an active screen at a temperature of 420 °C, over 60 min. The conducted studies involved the examination of the microstructure of the formed layers, surface roughness testing, analysis of contact angles and surface free energy, examination of resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion and examination of nanohardness. On the basis of the results of the conducted studies, it was established that the most advantageous set of properties after sterilisation and exposure to Ringer’s solution was displayed by implants with a formed diffusion nitrocarburised layer.
Highlights
Metallic materials are still a primary choice in implants used in reconstructive, operative and interventional surgery [1,2,3,4,5]
The goal of the paper was to determine the usefulness of diffusive surface processing, including sterilisation and exposure to Ringer’s solution, regarding the aspect of improving the mechanical and physiochemical properties of the surfaces of plates made of AISI 316 LVM steel for the treatment of pectus excavatum
The external part of the layer consisted of nitrogen austenite γN, whereas the thinner internal layer consisted of carbon austenite γC. Such a structure is the result of differences in the coefficients of nitrogen and carbon diffusion in austenite
Summary
Metallic materials are still a primary choice in implants used in reconstructive, operative and interventional surgery [1,2,3,4,5]. The selection of functional properties of metal materials for specific functional applications is determined by structural form of the product, surgery technique used for lesions, service life and the biomechanical properties of the treated skeletal tissues (tensile strength, compressive strength, bending strength, Young’s modulus). The need to improve the quality of these products is dictated by the changing individual toxicological and allergenic reactivity of patients and the growth of bacterial flora, which require the use of steam sterilisation This procedure is used most often in the case of implants. The most complex issues occur during the selection of the mechanical and physiochemical properties of the implants used for stabilisation in osteoarticular systems.
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