Abstract
The microstructure, mechanical properties, magnetic susceptibility, electrochemical corrosion performance, in vitro cell compatibility and blood consistency of Zr-16Nb-xTi (x = 0, 4, 8, 12 and 16 wt.%) materials were investigated as potential materials for biomedical implants. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses revealed the secondary phase martensite α’ formed during the quenching process. The phase composition contained metastable β and martensite α’, resulting from Ti addition. These phase constitutions were the main causes of a low Young’s modulus and magnetic susceptibility. The in vitro cytocompatibility analysis illustrated that the MG63 cells maintained high activity (from 91% to 97%) after culturing in Zr-16Nb-xTi extraction media for 12 days due to the high internal biocompatibility of Zr, Nb and Ti elements, as well as the optimal corrosion resistance of Zr-16Nb-xTi. On the basis of Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) ion release studies, the concentration of Zr, Nb and Ti was noted to reach the equipment detective limit of 0.001 mg/L, which was much lower than pure Ti. With respect to the corrosion behavior in Hank’s solution, Zr-16Nb-16Ti displayed superior properties, possessing the lowest corrosion current density and widest passivation region, attributed to the addition of Ti. The blood compatibility test illustrated that the Zr-16Nb-xTi materials were nonhemolytic, and the platelets maintained a spherical shape, with no aggregation or activation on Zr-16Nb-xTi. Overall, Ti addition has obvious effects on the developed Zr-16Nb-xTi alloys, and Zr-16Nb-4Ti exhibited low magnetic susceptibility, low modulus, good biocompatibility and proper corrosion properties, demonstrating the potential of use as implant biomaterials.
Highlights
Ascribed to the growing older population, elderly people are at a high risk of hard tissue failure.Kurtz et al [1] mentioned that in 2020, the number of total hip replacements would reach 384,000 and increase to 572,000 by 2030
As the Zr-16Nb-xTi alloys have a similar secondary phase, dark-field Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images and their corresponding selected area electron diffraction (SAED) profile were chosen to analyze the precipitated phase
The SAED patterns were collected from the single acicular phase and binary phase area to confirm the presence of the acicular phase (Figures 3 and 4)
Summary
Ascribed to the growing older population, elderly people are at a high risk of hard tissue failure.Kurtz et al [1] mentioned that in 2020, the number of total hip replacements would reach 384,000 and increase to 572,000 by 2030. Metals and their alloys are vital for use in biomedical materials because of their high strength and processability. Alloys such as Ti-based materials, 316 L stainless steel and Co-Cr-Mo alloy are widely used as biomedical materials [3] Most of these alloys, such as titanium alloys (55–115 GPa) [4], 316L SS (200–210 GPa) [4,5] and Co-Cr alloys (210–253 GPa) [4,5], present a larger Young’s modulus than human bone (10–30 GPa) [6], which results in a “stress shielding” effect and further implant failure [7,8]. Though Ti-based alloys possess lower magnetic susceptibility than 316L
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