Papers by Author: A. Nouri

Abstract: Highly porous titanium and titanium alloys with an open cell structure are promising implant materials due to their low elastic modulus, excellent bioactivity, biocompatibility and the ability for bone regeneration. However, the mechanical strength of the porous titanium decreases dramatically with increasing porosity, which is a prerequisite for the ingrowth of new bone tissues and vascularization. In the present study, porous titanium with porosity gradients, i.e. solid core with highly porous outer shell was successfully fabricated using a powder metallurgy approach. Satisfactory mechanical properties derived from the solid core and osseointegration capacity derived from the outer shell can be achieved simultaneously through the design of the porosity gradients of the porous titanium. The outer shell of porous titanium exhibited a porous architecture very close to that of natural bone, i.e. a porosity of 70% and pore size distribution in the range of 200 - 500 μm. The peak stress and the elastic modulus of the porous titanium with a porosity gradient (an overall porosity 63%) under compression were approximately 152 MPa and 4 GPa, respectively. These properties are very close to those of natural bone. For comparison, porous titanium with a uniform porosity of 63% was also prepared and characterised in the present study. The peak stress and the elastic modulus were 109 MPa and 4 GPa, respectively. The topography of the porous titanium affected the mechanical properties significantly.

Abstract: Titanium and some of its alloys are widely used as load-bearing implant materials. In particular, titanium-zirconium (Ti-Zr) alloys have a high potential for biomedical applications due to the excellent biocompatibility of both Ti and Zr. Nevertheless, the surfaces of the Ti-Zr alloys need to be modified to provide the implant material’s bioactivity. In the present study, an alkali-heat (AH) treatment process followed by the soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF) was attempted for the preparation of calcium phosphate (CaP) coatings on the surface of the TiZr alloy. Phase transformation, surface morphology, and interfacial microstructure were investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy-dispersive electron probe X-ray analyser (EDS). The results indicate that the AH treatment produced a nano-porous bioactive sodium titanate / zirconate hydrogel surface layer which induced the deposition of a Ca-P layer during soaking in the SBF. This Ca-P layer on the TiZr alloy surface can be expected to bond to the surrounding bones directly after implantation.

Abstract: Various types of titanium alloys with high strength and low elastic modulus and, at the same time, vanadium and aluminium free have been developed as surgical biomaterials in recent years. Moreover, porous metals are promising hard tissue implants in orthopaedic and dentistry, where they mimic the porous structure and the low elastic modulus of natural bone. In the present study, new biocompatible Ti-based alloy foams with approximate relative densities of 0.4, in which Sn and Nb were added as alloying metals, were synthesised through powder metallurgy method. The new alloys were prepared by mechanical alloying and subsequently sintered at high temperature using a vacuum furnace. The characteristics and the processability of the ball milled powders and the new porous titanium-based alloys were characterised by X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy .The mechanical properties of the new titanium alloys were examined by Vickers microhardness measurements and compression testing.