Sintering and biocompatibility of blended elemental Ti-xNb alloys

Yunhui Chen; Pingping Han; Ali Dehghan-Manshadi; Damon Kent; Shima Ehtemam-Haghighi; Casey Jowers; Michael Bermingham; Tong Li; Justin Cooper-White; Matthew S Dargusch

doi:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2020.103691

Sintering and biocompatibility of blended elemental Ti-xNb alloys

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2020 Apr:104:103691. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2020.103691. Epub 2020 Feb 10.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia; School of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London, WC1E 7JE, UK; Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0FA, UK.
² The UQ Centre in Stem Cell Ageing and Regenerative Engineering (UQ-StemCARE), Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia.
³ Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia; School of Science and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, QLD, 4558, Australia. Electronic address: dkent@usc.edu.au.
⁵ Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia; School of Science and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, QLD, 4558, Australia.
⁶ School of Science and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, QLD, 4558, Australia.
⁷ Institute for Materials & ZGH, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.

PMID: 32174435
DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2020.103691

Abstract

Titanium-niobium (Ti-Nb) alloys have great potential for biomedical applications due to their superior biocompatibility and mechanical properties that match closely to human bone. Powder metallurgy is an ideal technology for efficient manufacture of titanium alloys to generate net-shape, intricately featured and porous components. This work reports on the effects of Nb concentrations on sintered Ti-xNb alloys with the aim to establish an optimal composition in respect to mechanical and biological performances. Ti-xNb alloys with 33, 40, 56 and 66 wt% Nb were fabricated from elemental powders and the sintering response, mechanical properties, microstructures and biocompatibility assessed and compared to conventional commercial purity titanium (CPTi). The sintered densities for all Ti-xNb compositions were around 95%, reducing slightly with increasing Nb due to increasing open porosity. Higher Nb levels retarded sintering leading to more inhomogeneous phase and pore distributions. The compressive strength decreased with increasing Nb, while all Ti-xNb alloys displayed higher strengths than CPTi except the Ti-66Nb alloy. The Young's moduli of the Ti-xNb alloys with ≥40 wt% Nb were substantially lower (30-50%) than CPTi. In-vitro cell culture testing revealed excellent biocompatibility for all Ti-xNb alloys comparable or better than tissue culture plate and CPTi controls, with the Ti-40Nb alloy exhibiting superior cell-material interactions. In view of its mechanical and biological performance, the Ti-40Nb composition is most promising for hard tissue engineering applications.

Keywords: Biocompatibility; Mechanical properties; Niobium; Powder metallurgy; Sintering; Titanium.

MeSH terms

Alloys
Biocompatible Materials
Humans
Materials Testing
Niobium*
Titanium*

Substances

Alloys
Biocompatible Materials
Niobium
Titanium