eh-Chuan Hsu

Fabrication and characterization of porous Ti-7.5Mo alloy scaffolds for biomedical applications.

Porous titanium and titanium alloys are promising scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, since they have the potential to provide new bone tissue ingrowth abilities and low elastic modulus to match that of natural bone. In the present study, porous Ti–7.5Mo alloy scaffolds with various porosities from 30 to 75 % were successfully prepared through a space-holder sintering method. The yield strength and elastic modulus of a Ti–7.5Mo scaffold with a porosity of 50 % are 127 MPa and 4.2 GPa, respectively, being relatively comparable to the reported mechanical properties of natural bone. In addition, the porous Ti–7.5Mo alloy exhibited improved apatite-forming abilities after pretreatment (with NaOH or NaOH + water) and subsequent immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) at 37 °C. After soaking in an SBF solution for 21 days, a dense apatite layer covered the inner and outer surfaces of the pretreated porous Ti–7.5Mo substrates, thereby providing favorable bioactive conditions for bone bonding and growth. The preliminary cell culturing result revealed that the porous Ti–7.5Mo alloy supported cell attachment.

Structure and Mechanical Properties of As-Cast Ti–5Sn–xMo Alloys

Ti–5Sn–xMo (x = 0, 1, 3, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, and 20 wt %) alloys were designed and prepared for application as implant materials with superior mechanical properties. The results demonstrated that the crystal structure and mechanical properties of Ti–5Sn–xMo alloys are highly affected by their Mo content. The as-cast microstructures of Ti–5Sn–xMo alloys transformed in the sequence of phases α′ → α″ → β, and the morphologies of the alloys changed from a lath structure to an equiaxed structure as the Mo content increased. The α″-phase Ti–5Sn–7.5Mo (80 GPa) and β-phase Ti–5Sn–10Mo (85 GPa) exhibited relatively low elastic moduli and had excellent elastic recovery angles of 27.4° and 37.8°, respectively. Furthermore, they exhibited high ductility and moderate strength, as evaluated using the three-point bending test. Search for a more suitable implant material by this study, Ti–5Sn–xMo alloys with 7.5 and 10 wt % Mo appear to be promising candidates because they demonstrate the optimal combined properties of microhardness, ductility, elastic modulus, and elastic recovery capability.

Microstructure and Characteristics of Calcium Phosphate Layers on Bioactive Oxide Surfaces of Air-Sintered Titanium Foams after Immersion in Simulated Body Fluid

We propose a simple and low-cost process for the preparation of porous Ti foams through a sponge replication method using single-step air sintering at various temperatures. In this study, the apatite-forming ability of air-sintered Ti samples after 21 days of immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) was investigated. The microstructures of the prepared Ca–P deposits were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In contrast to the control sample sintered in vacuum, which was found to have the simple hexagonal α-Ti phase, the air-sintered samples contained only the rutile phase. High intensities of XRD peaks for rutile TiO2 were obtained with samples sintered at 1000 °C. Moreover, the air-sintered Ti samples had a greater apatite-forming ability than that of the Ti sample sintered in vacuum. Ti samples sintered at 900 and 1000 °C had large aggregated spheroidal particles on their surfaces after immersion in SBF for 21 days. Combined XRD, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, and TEM results suggest that the calcium phosphate deposited on the rutile TiO2 surfaces consist of carbonated calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite instead of octacalcium phosphate.

Effect of different post-treatments on the bioactivity of alkali-treated Ti–5Si alloy

BACKGROUND As titanium (Ti) alloys are bioinert, various chemically-modified Ti surface has been developed to promote bioactivity and bone ingrowth. OBJECTIVE In this study, various post treatments (water aging, hydrothermal, and heat treatments) were applied to NaOH-treated Ti-5Si to improve its bioactivity. METHODS The bioactivity of surface-modified Ti-5Si was access by using the apatite formation ability of Ti-5Si surfaces soaking in a simulated body fluid (SBF). RESULTS The results showed that the NaOH-treated surface formed a porous network structure composed of sodium titanate hydrogel, which was changed to sodium titanate after subsequent post treatments, whereas sodium titanate, anatase and rutile phases were found on the Ti-5Si surfaces after heat treatment. After immersion in SBF for 14 days, compact apatite layers were observed on the surfaces of all the Ti-5Si tested. The results of XRD and FTIR indicated that the apatite deposited on the Ti-5Si substrate with various surface modified conditions was carbonate-substituted hydroxyapatite. CONCLUSIONS The apatite-forming ability of the surface of the Ti-5Si was excellent, even though Ti-5Si was not subjected to surface modifications. As a result, the bioactivity of Ti-5Si alloy was verified by the apatite-forming ability, making it suitable for use in orthopedic and dental implants.