Biocompatible β-Ti-based alloys for bone implants by ab initio and experimental data

Y.Fortouna1, L.A. Alberta3, K. Tiwari4, M.E.Nousia1, M.P. Rizzi4, A. Gebert3, M. Calin3, Ch.E. Lekka1,2*

1 Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece

University Research Center of Ioannina (URCI), Institute of Materials Science and Computing, Ioannina 45110, Greece

2 Department of Materials Science & Engineering, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece

3 Institute for Complex Materials, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research (IFW) Dresden e.V., Helmholtzstraße 20, Dresden, 01069, Germany

4 Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Torino, Via Giuria 7, 10125 Torino, Italy

*chlekka@uoi.gr

β-type Ti-based alloys have been suggested as promising materials for replacing the widely used TiAl6V4 implants due to their low Young moduli, high corrosion resistance and minimal cytotoxicity [1,2] while their enrichment with elements showing antibacterial properties like Ga, Cu and Ag is expected to cause antibiofilm activity [3,4]. The TiNbX (X=Ga, In, Sn, Cu, Ag, Hf) theoretical lattice constands agree with experimental data. Investigations on the ternary TiNbX (X= Ga, Sn, In with sp valence electrons) revealed that minor additions introduce low energy states that present antibonding features with their neighborhood thus weakening the chemical bonds and leading to elastic softening [2,3,4]. The early stages of TiCuZr dealloying effect were also investigated revealing the role of organic molecules in the surface atoms’s dissolution.The results of this work could be of use in the design of antibacteria, low rigidity β-type Ti-alloys with non-toxic additions, suitable for orthopedic and orthodontics applications.

Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the Bioremia (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2019, No 861046, 2020-2024)

References

[1] Mitsuo Niinomi, Metals for biomedical devices. Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2010

[2] Ch. E. Lekka, J.J. Gutiérrez-Moreno, M. Calin, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 102, 2017, 49

[3] J.J. Gutiérrez Moreno, N. Panagiotopoulos, G. Evangelakis, Ch. Lekka, 2020, 13,1–11, 1288

[4] L.A.Alberta, Y.Fortouna, J.Vishnu, S. Pilz, A. Gebert, Ch.Lekka, K. Nielsch, M. Calin (submitted in JMBBM)