EUROPEAN CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION ON ADVANCED MATERIALS AND PROCESSES - EUROMAT 2021

Commercially available β-type titanium (Ti) alloys such as Ti6Al4V have been commonly used as bone implants. However, concerns about the toxic effects of vanadium (V) and aluminium (Al), that could cause hematological and biochemical alterations, osteomalacia, and/or peripheral neuropathy and Alzheimer’s disease, respectively, have prompted the development of Al- and V-free β-Ti alloys. Thus, a new alloy composed of non-toxic elements, namely Ti16Mo5Nb4Ta, was fabricated, and its mechanical properties (Young’s modulus and hardness) were measured and compared with those of Ti6Al4V. To increase the osseointegration of the new material, calcium phosphate (CaP) was electrodeposited on its surface, varying the content of H2O2 in the electrolyte (1 – 12% v/v). The effect of H2O2 on the crystallinity of CaP was investigated in order to ensure the deposition of the most biocompatible and stable stoichiometric hydroxyapatite (HA) crystal structure. Moreover, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were incorporated into the deposited HA matrix also by electrochemical means to confer antibacterial properties to the investigated material. The morphology and the chemical composition of the HA and the HA/AgNPs composite were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS). In the same way, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was performed in order to identify the phases from both the base alloy as well as the HA and HA/AgNPs coatings.

This work has been done within the Biofilm-resistant materials for hard tissue implant applications (BIOREMIA) European Training Network (ETN) funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 861046.