Biomechanical Analysis of Non-Metallic Biomaterial in the Manufacture of a New Knee Prosthesis

The increase in the number of revision surgeries after a total knee replacement surgery reaches 19%. One of the reasons for the majority of revisions relates to the debris of the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene that serves to facilitate the sliding between the femoral and tibial components. This paper addresses the biomechanical properties of ULTEMTM 1010 in a totally new knee replacement design, based on one of the commercial models of the Stryker manufacturer. It is designed and produced through additive manufacturing that replaces the tibial component and the polyethylene in such a way as to reduce the pieces that are part of the prosthetic assembly to only two: the femoral and the tibial (the so-called “two-component knee prosthesis”). The cytotoxicity as well as the live/dead tests carried out on a series of biomaterials guarantee the best osteointegration of the studied material. The finite element simulation method guarantees the stability of the material before a load of 2000 N is applied in the bending angles 0°, 30°, 60°, 90°, and 120°. Thus, the non-metallic prosthetic material and approach represent a promising alternative for metal-allergic patients.

Electophoretically Deposition of Ti3C2 on Titanium Surface for Hard Tissue Implant Applications

As a metallic biomaterial, titanium (Ti) exhibits excellent biocompatibility, but its osteoinductivity is limited. Therefore, to improve this property, an electrophoretic deposition (EPD) technique was used to coat the Ti surface with Ti3C2 MXene (Ti3C2), a new class of two-dimensional nanomaterial. Ti3C2 is known to have good biocompatibility and better osteoinductivity than graphene oxide. The coating layer was characterized by a particulate microstructure and exhibited X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy peaks corresponding to the Ti3C2 phase. In vitro cell tests using human mesenchymal stem cells confirmed that the cell attachment and proliferation on Ti3C2-coated Ti were similar to that of bare Ti, and that the osteoinductivity was significantly enhanced compared with bare Ti.

Entrapment of glucose oxidase within gold converts it to a general monosaccharide-oxidase

We report that entrapping glucose oxidase (GOx) within metallic gold, expands its activity to become an oxidase for monosaccharides that do not have a natural enzyme with that activity—fructose and xylose—and that this entrapment also removes the enantioselectivity, rendering this enzyme capable of oxidizing the “wrong” l-enantiomer of glucose. These observations suggest that in this biomaterial adsorptive interactions of the outer regions of the protein with the gold cage, pull apart and widen the tunnel between the two monomeric units of GOx, to a degree that its stereoselectivity is compromised; then, the active sites which are more versatile than currently attributed to, are free and capable of acting on the foreign sugars. To test this proposition, we entrapped in gold l-asparaginase, which is also a dimeric enzyme (a dimer of tight dimers), and found, again, that this metallic biomaterial widens the activity of that enzyme, to include the D-amino acid counter enantiomer as well. Detailed kinetic analyses for all substrates are provided for the gold bio-composites, including determination of the difference between the activation energies towards two opposite enantiomers.

Optimization of Anodization Parameters in Ti-30Ta Alloy

The current metallic biomaterial still presents failures associated with the bulk alloy and the interface of material/human body. In previous studies, titanium alloy with tantalum showed the elastic modulus decrease in comparison with that of commercially pure (cp) titanium. In this study, surface modification on Ti-30Ta alloy was investigated. Titanium and tantalum were melted, homogenized, cold-worked by a rotary swaging process and solubilized. The anodization process was performed in electrolyte contained glycerol + NH4F 0.25% at 30 V using seven different durations—4 h, 5 h, 6 h, 7 h, 8 h, 9 h, and 10 h and annealed at 530 °C for 1 h. The surface topography was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and contact angle. From the results, we conclude the time of anodization process influences the shape and morphology of the anodized layer. The 5 h-anodization process produced a smooth and porous surface. The 4-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, and 10-h conditions showed nanotubes morphology. All surfaces are hydrophilic (<90°). Likewise, all the investigated conditions present anatase phase. So, this surface modification presents potential for biomedical application. However, more work needs to be done to better understand the influence of time on the anodization process.

Characterization and Monitoring of Titanium Bone Implants with Impedance Spectroscopy

Porous titanium is a metallic biomaterial with good properties for the clinical repair of cortical bone tissue, although the presence of pores can compromise its mechanical behavior and clinical use. It is therefore necessary to characterize the implant pore size and distribution in a suitable way. In this work, we explore the new use of electrical impedance spectroscopy for the characterization and monitoring of titanium bone implants. Electrical impedance spectroscopy has been used as a non-invasive route to characterize the volumetric porosity percentage (30%, 40%, 50% and 60%) and the range of pore size (100–200 and 355–500 mm) of porous titanium samples obtained with the space-holder technique. Impedance spectroscopy is proved to be an appropriate technique to characterize the level of porosity of the titanium samples and pore size, in an affordable and non-invasive way. The technique could also be used in smart implants to detect changes in the service life of the material, such as the appearance of fractures, the adhesion of osteoblasts and bacteria, or the formation of bone tissue.

State of Osseointegrated Titanium Implant Surfaces in Topographical Aspect

Titanium is a primary metallic biomaterial widely used in dental implants because of its favorable mechanical properties and osseointegration capability. Currently, increasing interests have been taken in the interaction between titanium implant surface and surrounding bone tissue, particularly in surface topographical aspect. There are currently several techniques developed to modify surface topographies in the world market of dental implant. In this review, state of titanium implant surfaces in topographical aspect is presented from relatively smooth surfaces to rougher ones with microtopographies and/or nanotopographies. Each surface is summarized with basic elaborations, preparation methods, mechanisms for cellular responses and current availabilities. It has been demonstrated that rough surfaces evolving from micro- to nano-scale, especially hierarchical micro-and nanotopographies, are favorable for faster and stronger osseointegration. Further experimental and clinical investigations will aid in the optimization of surface topography and clinical selection of suitable implants.