Scope of magnesium ceria nanocomposites for mandibular reconstruction: Degradation and biomechanical evaluation using a 3-dimensional finite element analysis approach.

Magnesium/Ceria nanocomposites (Mg/xCeO2 NCs (x = 0.5 %, 1 % and 1.5 %)) prepared by using powder metallurgy and microwave sintering method are assessed for their corrosion rate for a period of 28 days. As per the immersion tests results, the addition of ceria nanoparticles to pure Mg, brought about a noteworthy improvement to corrosion resistance. A corrosion rate of approximately 0.84 mm/year for Mg/0.5CeO2 and 0.99 mm/year for Mg/1.0CeO2 nanocomposites were observed. Another aspect of the study involves employing the simulation method i.e. finite element analysis (FEA) to compare the stress distribution in magnesium-ceria nanocomposite based screws and circular bars especially for Mg/0.5CeO2 and Mg/1.0CeO2. Further, the simulation also gives a perception of the impact of masticatory forces, the biting force and shear stress exerted on the Mg/0.5CeO2 and Mg/1.0CeO2 based screws. The simulations results show that the screws showed an acceptable level of stresses for a biting force up to 300 N. The circular bar as well kept its stresses at acceptable levels for the same load of 300N. The shear stress results indicated that a biting force up to 602 N can be safely absorbed by Mg/0.5CeO2 screw. The comprehensive approach allows for a better understanding of the corrosion behavior, stress distribution, and mechanical properties of the Mg/CeO2 nanocomposites, enabling the development of effective temporary implants for craniofacial trauma fixation that can withstand normal physiological forces during mastication. The study reported in this paper aims to target Mg/xCeO2 NCs for temporary implants for craniofacial trauma fixation.

Development of rare-earth oxide reinforced magnesium nanocomposites for orthopaedic applications: A mechanical/immersion/biocompatibility perspective.

Magnesium-Zinc based nanocomposites containing cerium oxide nanoparticles were developed in the present work. A systematic study on their microstructure, mechanical properties, in vitro degradation behaviour, and cytotoxicity are presented. It was found that the developed nanocomposites exhibited excellent strength and toughness that are superior to the commercially available magnesium alloys. From corrosion perspective, nanocomposites exhibited reduced pH increase compared to pure Mg with Mg-0.5Zn/0.5CeO2 showing the least corrosion rate. Moreover, the developed nanocomposites exhibited no cytotoxicity to MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblast cells. Based on the above findings, the feasibility of Mg-Zn/CeO2 nanocomposites for use as orthopaedic implants is systematically discussed. This study provides an insight into the development of new high-performance Mg alloy-rare earth oxide (REO)-based nanocomposites with superior mechanical properties and corrosion resistance while effectively avoiding the possible standing toxic effect of RE elements.

Hollow silica reinforced magnesium nanocomposites with enhanced mechanical and biological properties with computational modeling analysis for mandibular reconstruction.

The present study investigates Mg-SiO2 nanocomposites as biodegradable implants for orthopedic and maxillofacial applications. The effect of presence and progressive addition of hollow silica nanoparticles (0.5, 1, and 1.5) vol.% on the microstructural, mechanical, degradation, and biocompatibility response of pure Mg were investigated. Results suggest that the increased addition of hollow silica nanoparticles resulted in a progressive increase in yield strength and ultimate compressive strength with Mg-1.5 vol.% SiO2 exhibiting superior enhancement. The response of Mg-SiO2 nanocomposites under the influence of Hanks' balanced salt solution revealed that the synthesized composites revealed lower corrosion rates, indicating rapid dynamic passivation when compared with pure Mg. Furthermore, cell adhesion and proliferation of osteoblast cells were noticeably higher than pure Mg with the addition of 1 vol.% SiO2 nanoparticle. The biocompatibility and the in vitro biodegradation of the Mg-SiO2 nanocomposites were influenced by the SiO2 content in pure Mg with Mg-0.5 vol.% SiO2 nanocomposite exhibiting the best corrosion resistance and biocompatibility when compared with other nanocomposites. Enhancement in mechanical, corrosion, and biocompatibility characteristics of Mg-SiO2 nanocomposites developed in this study are also compared with properties of other metallic biomaterials used in alloplastic mandibular reconstruction in a computational model.

Strength retention, corrosion control and biocompatibility of Mg-Zn-Si/HA nanocomposites.

Owing to the poor load-bearing ability and apparent cytotoxicity of polymeric and ceramic materials, magnesium-based materials can be an ideal substitute for bone repair applications. Magnesium is bioresorbable, unlike other metallic materials like titanium and stainless steel, has excellent biocompatibility, compressive strengths and elastic modulus similar to the natural bone, which circumvents the need for secondary surgery post-implantation in vivo. Against this background, in this study, magnesium-based nanocomposites were developed by using hydroxyapatite bioceramic as a nano reinforcement. Magnesium-based alloys were synthesized using selective alloying elements and hydroxyapatite incorporated nanocomposites were processed using the disintegrated melt deposition technique. The microstructure characterization revealed that the addition of hydroxyapatite resulted in superior grain refinement of the magnesium alloy matrix. The addition of hydroxyapatite improved the yield strength of the alloy matrix and displayed superior strength and ductility retention post corrosion for 21 days, under compression loading. The presence of hydroxyapatite improved the hydrophilicity of the alloy matrix thereby aiding the biocompatibility properties with improved corrosion resistance, level 0 cytotoxicity, and high cell attachment. Hence, the present study strongly suggests that magnesium alloy-based hydroxyapatite nanocomposites can be a suitable candidate for bone repair applications.

Enhancing the Ignition, Hardness and Compressive Response of Magnesium by Reinforcing with Hollow Glass Microballoons.

Magnesium (Mg)/glass microballoons (GMB) metal matrix syntactic foams (1.47-1.67 g/cc) were synthesized using a disintegrated melt deposition (DMD) processing route. Such syntactic foams are of great interest to the scientific community as potential candidate materials for the ever-changing demands in automotive, aerospace, and marine sectors. The synthesized composites were evaluated for their microstructural, thermal, and compressive properties. Results showed that microhardness and the dimensional stability of pure Mg increased with increasing GMB content. The ignition response of these foams was enhanced by ~22 °C with a 25 wt % GMB addition to the Mg matrix. The authors of this work propose a new parameter, ignition factor, to quantify the superior ignition performance that the developed Mg foams exhibit. The room temperature compressive strengths of pure Mg increased with the addition of GMB particles, with Mg-25 wt % GMB exhibiting the maximum compressive yield strength (CYS) of 161 MPa and an ultimate compressive strength (UCS) of 232 MPa for a GMB addition of 5 wt % in Mg. A maximum failure strain of 37.7% was realized in Mg-25 wt % GMB foam. The addition of GMB particles significantly enhanced the energy absorption by ~200% prior to compressive failure for highest filler loading, as compared to pure Mg. Finally, microstructural changes in Mg owing to the presence of hollow GMB particles were elaborately discussed.

Using B4C Nanoparticles to Enhance Thermal and Mechanical Response of Aluminum.

In this work, Al-B4C nanocomposites were produced by microwave sintering and followed by hot extrusion processes. The influence of ceramic reinforcement (B4C) nanoparticles on the physical, microstructural, mechanical, and thermal characteristics of the extruded Al-B4C nanocomposites was investigated. It was observed that the density decreased and porosity increased with an increase in B4C content in aluminum matrix. The porosity of the composites increased whereas density decreased with increasing B4C content. Electron microscopy analysis reveals the uniform distribution of B4C nanoparticles in the Al matrix. Mechanical characterization results revealed that hardness, elastic modulus, compression, and tensile strengths increased whereas ductility decreases with increasing B4C content. Al-1.0 vol. % B4C nanocomposite exhibited best hardness (135.56 Hv), Young's modulus (88.63 GPa), and compression/tensile strength (524.67/194.41 MPa) among the materials investigated. Further, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of composites gradually decreased with an increase in B4C content.