Surface modification of the laser powder bed-fused Ti-Zr-Nb scaffolds by dynamic chemical etching and Ag nanoparticles decoration.

Metallic lattice scaffolds are designed to mimic the architecture and mechanical properties of bone tissue and their surface compatibility is of primary importance. This study presents a novel surface modification protocol for metallic lattice scaffolds printed from a superelastic Ti-Zr-Nb alloy. This protocol consists of dynamic chemical etching (DCE) followed by silver nanoparticles (AgNP) decoration. DCE, using an 1HF + 3HNO3 + 12H2O23% based solution, was used to remove partially-fused particles from the surfaces of different as-built lattice structures (rhombic dodecahedron, sheet gyroid, and Voronoi polyhedra). Subsequently, an antibacterial coating was synthesized on the surface of the scaffolds by a controlled (20 min at a fixed volume flowrate of 500 mL/min) pumping of the functionalization solutions (NaBH4 (2 mg/mL) and AgNO3 (1 mg/mL)) through the porous structures. Following these treatments, the scaffolds' surfaces were found to be densely populated with Ag nanoparticles and their agglomerates, and manifested an excellent antibacterial effect (Ag ion release rate of 4-8 ppm) suppressing the growth of both E. coli and B. subtilis bacteria up to 99 %. The scaffold extracts showed no cytotoxicity and did not affect cell proliferation, indicating their safety for subsequent use as implants. A cytocompatibility assessment using MG-63 spheroids demonstrated good attachment, spreading, and active migration of cells on the scaffold surface (over 96 % of living cells), confirming their biotolerance. These findings suggest the promise of this surface modification approach for developing superelastic Ti-Zr-Nb scaffolds with superior antibacterial properties and biocompatibility, making them highly suitable for bone implant applications.

Effect of HPT and accumulative HPT on structure formation and microhardness of the novel Ti18Zr15Nb alloy.

Effect of HPT and accumulative HPT on the Ti18Zr15Nb biomedical alloy has been studied. According to the XRD and TEM data, the ß-phase is a main phase in the alloy both in the initial state and after processing by HPT and accumulative HPT. The ß-phase X-ray line width after HPT processing, and especially after ACC HPT processing has drastically increased as a result of an increase in defect concentration and grain refinement. According to TEM, the grains after HPT processing for n = 10 revolutions are refined in some regions down to 10-30 nm. As a result of HPT processing, the alloy's microhardness has noticeably increased, which indicates an increase in strength and yield stress together with the preservation of the ß-state.

Functional fatigue behavior of superelastic beta Ti-22Nb-6Zr(at%) alloy for load-bearing biomedical applications.

Ti-22Nb-6Zr (at.%) alloy with different processing-induced microstructures (highly-dislocated partially recovered substructure, polygonized nanosubgrained (NSS) dislocation substructure, and recrystallized structure) was subjected to strain-controlled tension-tension fatigue testing in the 0.2...1.5% strain range (run-out at 10^6 cycles). The NSS alloy obtained after cold-rolling with 0.3 true strain and post-deformation annealing at 600 °C showed the lowest Young's modulus and globally superior fatigue performance due to the involvement of reversible stress-induced martensitic transformation in the deformation process. This NSS structure appears to be suitable for biomedical applications with an extended variation range of loading conditions (orthopedic implants).

Fabrication, morphology and mechanical properties of Ti and metastable Ti-based alloy foams for biomedical applications.

Metallic foams with porosity ranging from 0.25 to 0.65 have been produced from TiCp, Ti-Nb-Zr and Ti-Nb-Ta prealloyed powder by using the space-holder technique, and analysed from both the pore morphology and mechanical properties' points of view. For all the foams, the most suitable porosity range for bone ingrowth appears to be 0.35 to 0.45, since these porosities lead to a pore size that is globally encompassed in the recommended 100-600 µm range. From the mechanical behavior point of view, all of the as-sintered foams demonstrate similar compression behavior in terms of their apparent Young's modulus and critical stresses. In the recommended 0.3-0.45 porosity range, their Young's modulus varies from 15 to 8 GPa, whilst their yield stress varies from 300 to 150 MPa. The first characteristic comes close to that of cortical bone, whilst the second significantly exceeds bone resistance. Compared to Ti foams, the mechanical properties of metastable TNZ and TNT alloy foams can also be regulated within a ±20% range, by selecting an appropriate post-sintering thermal treatment. This effect, which is initiated by activating reversible stress-induced ß to α″ martensitic transformation, is strongly perceptible for TNZ foams, whilst much less pronounced for TNT foams.