Materials Science Forum Vols. 638-642

Abstract: Selenium (Se) nanoclusters were coated on three different orthopedic materials: Titanium, stainless steel and ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). There different coating densities were achieved on each type of substrate. The uncoated and coated Ti and SS substrates were then used in experiments with either normal healthy osteoblasts (bone-forming cells) or cancerous osteoblasts (osteosarcoma) or a combination of both. For the first time, it was shown that the substrates coated with Se nanoclusters promoted (or at least maintained) normal osteoblast proliferation and inhibited cancerous osteoblast growth in both separate culture experiments and co-culture experiments. Thus, this study introduced to the orthopedic cancer community for the first time a coating material (Se) which may inhibit bone cancer growth and promote normal bone growth.

Abstract: The combined chemical-hydrothermal synthesis of TiO2 and CaTiO3 films on pure Ti substrates was examined with a focus on film crystallinity and surface morphology. Pure Ti disks were chemically treated with H2O2/ HNO3 aqueous solutions at 353 K for 20 min in order to form a TiO2 gel layer on the surfaces. The samples were then hydrothermally treated in an autoclave at 453 K for 12 h or 24 h. Anatase-type TiO2 and perovskite-type CaTiO3 films with high crystallinity were obtained upon treatment with distilled water or aqueous NH3 and aqueous Ca(OH)2, respectively. Uniform, crack-free films were obtained. The surfaces showed excellent attachment of osteoblast-like MC3T3E1 cells in an incipient stage. Furthermore, the cells showed satisfactory proliferation, though at a slightly lower rate than on Ti. In addition, the samples were immersed in SBF (Simulated Body Fluid), adjusted to 310 K. A light hydroxyapatite (HAp) precipitate was observed on the unmodified Ti surface after 6 days of immersion. In contrast, precipitation was observed only after 2 to 4 days on the present oxide films. Thus, these oxide films are non-toxic and enhance the deposition of HAp.

Abstract: The increasing research on development of novel bio-materials has resulted in several studies on non-destructive evaluation methods for characterizing these materials and the biological materials receiving them. A broad range of techniques are available. As an alternative tool, electrical impedance spectroscopy, has become a widely used, non destructive and low cost technique in material quality evaluation. Particularly in bones, it has also been demonstrated that mechanical characteristics are strongly correlated to dielectric properties. In this work, non destructive estimation (the same samples can be tested using other techniques) of the dielectric properties of fresh trabecular bones (layered lossy structure) using coaxial probes is analyzed from 1MHz to 10MHz (in frequency domain) and from 80MHz to 1GHz (in both, frequency and time domain). Frequency domain system identification is used to build the estimation in the low frequency range and an orthonormal based identification approach, for the high frequency data. Comments on conductive samples, non Debye dielectrics and polarization effects are added. The methodology was applied to a particular human sample population of aged adult femur heads and results are presented here. A comparison with destructive test, in which the samples were machined into cylinders of 7mm diameter, is also performed.

Abstract: Economical reasons to research and develop new materials are very strong and the main market for biotechnology is human health. Bone is one of the most studied biological material; data and models at different organization levels describe relevant features needed in different applications. Depending on the type of bone, the anatomical location, the human population considered and the level taken into account, the descriptions can differ substantially. In this work, we present a set of properties (mechanical and architectural ones) measured on fresh trabecular bones samples that were extracted from femur heads of live donors with hip total replacement. Standard procedures to preserve the samples were followed. Engineering and clinical tests were performed and custom-built tools were made to adapt the available equipment.

Abstract: Resorbable magnesium alloy implants for osteosynthetic surgery would be advantageous to common implants of titanium or surgical steel as a second surgery for implant removal would become unnecessary. To influence the degradation progress, surface modifications are sensible. As plates and screws were used to stabilize fractures, the degradation behavior of threaded cylinders is of particular interest. Therefore each eight solid MgCa0.8 alloy cylinders (3 x 5 mm) with smooth and sandblasted surface, respectively, and eight screw-shaped, threaded MgCa0.8 cylinders (thread pitch 1.25 mm, length 5 mm) were inserted into the medial femoral condyle of adult New Zealand White rabbits. Implantation periods were three and six months, within which the animals were examined daily. To evaluate a possible gas generation radiographs were taken weekly. After euthanasia the bone-implant-compound was scanned in a µ-computed tomograph (µCT80, ScancoMedical). All implants were well tolerated. Smooth implants degraded slowly. The cross sectional area did not reduce obviously after three months implantation duration and only mildly after six months. Sandblasted implants showed the fastest degradation progress after both implantation periods with the most obvious generation of gas. Threaded cylinders revealed pitting corrosion at the thread pitches. They degrade faster than smooth implants but slower than sandblasted cylinders. In summary, surface modification influences the degradation behavior of resorbable magnesium alloy implants. Contrary to common materials, smooth surfaces seem to be favorable. Thread pitches of screw-shaped implants show pitting corrosion. To what extend this result affects future applications of resorbable screws has to be examined in further investigations.

Abstract: The quantitative evaluation of the preferential orientation of crystallites by the synchrotron and neutron diffraction techniques during regeneration at the interface with implant gives a good prediction of the mechanical properties of the bone. During the process of bone healing after implantation, the speed and quality of regeneration is affected by the nature of the implant surface. Titanium alloy (Ti-Al-4V) is currently coating with the hydroxyapatite (HAp), Ca10(PO4)6 (OH)2, in order to obtain a stable and functional direct connection between bone and implant. At the interface implant-bone, the new bone reconstituted after implantation must have the same mechanical properties of bone in order to accept the implant. Therefore, it is necessary to study by means of two non destructive techniques: neutron diffraction and synchrotron radiation, the crystal growth and texture of this new bone crystals reconstituted at the interface.

Abstract: Implantable medical devices must be able to withstand the corrosive environment of the human body for 10 or more years without adverse consequences. Most reported research and development has been on developing materials and devices that are biocompatible and resistant to corrosion-fatigue, pitting, and crevice corrosion. However, little has been directly reported regarding implantable materials with respect to the rate at which they generate soluble ions in-vivo. Most of the biocompatibility studies have been done by examining animal implants and cell cultures rather than examining the rate at which these materials leach ions into the body. This paper will discuss what is currently known about the rate at which common implant materials (such as stainless steels, cobalt-chromium alloys, and nitinol) elute ions under in vitro conditions, what the limitations are of such data, and how this data can be used in medical device development.

Abstract: In the present study, the evaluation of the deformation and the determination of the first order residual stresses in shot peened aluminium plate have been performed by neutron diffraction on the strain imaging instrument SALSA at the Institut Laue Langevin, Grenoble, France, in order to validate a model of finite element analysis permitting to predict the final deformation. The sample used in this study is a rolled aluminium sheet (Al 2024 T3 alloy) which was clamped in a steel frame and peened following exactly the industrial production process. The first measurements were performed on the sample while it was still clamped. The second set was made after removing it from the frame. For each case, we measured the lattice strains and determined the stress repartition in the three principal directions.

Abstract: A localized source of heat, such as that of laser beam, can provide a convenient means of producing a surface layer of altered microstructure. By using surface hardening treatment, wear resistance can be increased. Experiments were performed using a Nd:YAG pulsed laser under different processing conditions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray mapping (SEM) were employed to observe the effect of laser melting treatment on the microstructural properties of the samples. Depending on the selected laser treatment working conditions, different microstructures characteristics of surface melting can be achieved in the treated zone. Higher microhardness values were found at the treated area showing a superficial hardening of the sample and, consequently, an improvement of the wear resistance of these automotive alloys. The aim of this work is to find the optimal process parameters and to evaluate the characteristics of the laser superficial hardening (LSH) in a pearlitic gray iron and Al-Si alloy used in an automobile industry (bearing and piston materials in automotive industry).

Abstract: An expanded austenite layer is formed on the surfaces of austenitic stainless steels that are nitrided under low-temperature plasma. This S phase is an iron alloy metastable phase supersaturated with nitrogen. We have identified a similar expanded ferrite or ferritic S phase for nitrided ferritic (BCC) stainless steels. Samples of austenitic AISI 304L and AISI 316L and ferritic AISI 409L stainless steels were plasma-nitrided at 350, 400, 450 and 500°C, and the structural and corrosion characteristics of the modified layers were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electrochemical tests. For the austenitic AISI 304L stainless steel, the results showed that a hard S phase layer was formed on the surface, without corrosion resistance degradation, by using low plasma temperatures (350 and 400°C). A similar behavior was observed for the austenitic AISI 316L stainless steel: the modified layers formed at 350 and 400°C were constituted mainly by the S phase. Plasma-nitriding treatment of the ferritic AISI 409L stainless steel caused the formation of a layer having high amount of nitrogen. XRD measurements indicated high strain states for the modified layers formed on the three stainless steels, being more pronounced for the ferritic S phase.