Porous sintered Ti-Ag compacts with different Ag content were fabricated by powder metallurgy. The associated hydrothermal treatment and the effect on the apatite formation were studied. The results suggested that TiO was generated under the condition of low vacuum （1 ×10^-2 Pa） during the process of burning out the spacer-holding particles. After hydrothermal treatment, a sub-microscale porous layer was formed at the pore wall surface of the samples. The apatite-inducing ability of hydrothermal treated porous sintered Ti-Ag compacts with different Ag content was evaluated in modified simulated body fluid （SBF）. And the results proved that there is a clear correlation between the apatite-inducing ability and Ag content. The higher Ag content in porous leads to the decrease of Na＋ ions and basic hydroxyl （OH）b amount, resulting in the decline of apatite-inducing ability in the first stage. However, their apatite-inducing ability was not significantly different from that of Ti after two weeks SBF immersing. Hence, the ionic activity should restore with the processing of SBF soaking, as the saturation of Ag effect.
There is an increasing interest in the development of magnesium alloys both for industrial and biomedical applications. Industrial interest in magnesium alloys is based on strong demand of weight reduction of transportation vehicles for better fuel efficiency, so higher strength, and better ductility and corrosion resistance are required. Nevertheless, biomedical magnesium alloys require appropriate mechanical properties, suitable degradation rate in physiological environment, and what is most important, biosafety to human body. Rather than simply apply commercial magnesium alloys to biomedical field, new alloys should be designed from the point of view of nutriology and toxicology. This article provides a review of state-of-the-art of magnesium alloy implants and devices for orthopedic, cardiovascular and tissue engineering applications. Advances in new alloy design, novel structure design and surface modification are overviewed. The factors that influence the corrosion behavior of magnesium alloys are discussed and the strategy in the future development of biomedical magnesium alloys is proposed.
Nb and Sn are major alloying elements in Zr alloys. In this study, the microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion behavior, cytocompatibility and magnetic resonance imaging （MRI） compatibility of Zr-2.5X （X = Nb, Sn） alloys for biomedical application are comparatively investigated. It is found that Zr-2.5Nb alloy has a duplex structure of ~ and ~ phase and Zr-2.5Sn alloy is composed of α phase. Both separate addition of Nb and Sn can strengthen Zr but Nb is more effective in strengthening Zr than Sn. The studied Zr-2.5X （X = Nb, Sn） alloys show improved corrosion resistance compared to pure Zr as indicted by the decreased corrosion current density. The alloying addition of Nb enhances the pitting resistance of Zr, whereas the addition of Sn decreases the pitting resistance of Zr. The extracts of Zr-2.5X alloys produce no significant deleterious effect on fibroblast cells （L-929） and osteoblast-Iike cells （MG 63）, indicating good in vitro cytocompatibility. The Zr-2.5X （X = Nb, Sn） alloys show decreased magnetic susceptibility compared to pure Zr and their magnetic susceptibility is far lower than that of pure Ti and Ti-6AI-4V alloy. Based on these facts, Zr-2.5Nb alloy is more suitable for implant material than Zr-2.5Sn alloy. Sn is not suitable as individual alloying addition for Zr because Sn addition decreases the pitting resistance in physiological solution.
In this study, the surface passive films, dissolution behavior and biocompatibility of Ti-Ag alloys （with 5%, 10% and 20% Ag） were evaluated by X-ray diffraction （XRD） tests, electrochemical corrosion tests, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） tests, dissolution tests and in-vitro cytotoxicity tests. The surface films on the Ti-20Ag alloy are rich in Ti and much deficient in Ag with respect to alloy composition, as identified by XPS. Compared to CP Ti, Ti-SAg and Ti-20Ag alloys show larger impedances and lower capacitances, which can be associated with an increase of the passive layer thickness. Moreover, all Ti-Ag alloys exhibit negligible or low metal release in the test solutions. The in-vitro cytotoxicity results show Ti-Ag alloys seem to be as cytocompatible as CP Ti. From the viewpoint of surface passive film and cytotoxicity, Ti-SAg and Ti-20Ag are considered to be more suitable for dental applications.
Ti and Ag powders were mixed with different ball milling time （1, 2, 5 and 10 h） and sintered into porous Ti-3Ag alloys. The samples were treated with hydrothermal treatment, and their apatite-inducing abilities were further evaluated by immersion in modified simulated body fluid. The results indicate that the high surface energy brought by powder refinement leads to the decline of Ag, but promotes the oxidation of Ti during the sintering process. Meanwhile, the hydrothermal treated porous Ti-3Ag alloys prepared by the powders ball milled for 10 h possess the best apatite-inducing ability.
