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The primary objective of this study was to fabricate a TiO2 nanotubular surface, which could maintain hydrophilicity over time (resist aging). In order to achieve non-aging hydrophilic surfaces, anodization and annealing conditions were optimized. This is the first study to show that anodization and annealing condition affect the stability of surface hydrophilicity. Our results indicate that maintenance of hydrophilicity of the obtained TiO2 nanotubes was affected by anodization voltage and annealing temperature. Annealing sharply decreased the water contact angle (WCA) of the as-synthesized TiO2 nanotubular surface, which was correlated to improved hydrophilicity. TiO2 nanotubular surfaces are transformed to hydrophilic surfaces after annealing, regardless of annealing and anodization conditions; however, WCA measurements during aging demonstrate that surface hydrophilicity of non-anodized and 20 V anodized samples decreased after only 11 days of aging, while the 60 V anodized samples maintained their hydrophilicity over the same time period. The nanotubes obtained by 60 V anodization followed by 600 °C annealing maintained their hydrophilicity significantly longer than nanotubes which were obtained by 60 V anodization followed by 300 °C annealing.

Background: There has been significant progress in implant research during last the 10 years. The increase in the old age population coupled with a lack of proper physical activities is a potential causes for the sudden increment in the implant usages. However, implant life is limited due to the corrosion and tribocorrosion of implant materials. There is currently a large need for research in this area. Whether this need is being met or not has not been studied. Along this line, there has been no recent systematic approach made to analyze the progress of research and published work in this area. The objective of this work is to present the published literatures in the corrosion and tribocorrosion area during last century, giving more emphasize over last 10 years. The objective of this paper is to report the current status of the corrosion and tribocorrosion research in bio-implants based on the literature reviews. The review demonstrate that during last 10 years, there is a significant progress in the implant research, particularly in tribocorrosion research.

Modern hip prostheses feature a modular implant design with at least one tapered junction. This design can lead to several complications due to the introduction of additional interfaces, which are subjected to various loading conditions and micromotion. The main objective of current study is to develop a fretting corrosion apparatus, which is able characterize the mechanical and electrochemical behaviour of various existing metal alloy couples during fretting motion. This study describes the design and the main considerations during the development of a novel fretting corrosion apparatus, as well as determination of the machine compliance and the initial testing results. Machine compliance considerations and frictional interactions of the couples are discussed in detail. For the preliminary tests, metal alloy pins, made of Ti6Al4V and wrought high-carbon CoCrMo were mechanically polished to a surface roughness of less than 20nm. 2 pins (Diameter = 11mm) of either Ti6Al4V or CoCrMo were loaded onto a Ti6Al4V alloy rod at a normal force of 200N. The interface types included: Ti6Al4V-Ti6Al4V-Ti6Al4V, Ti6Al4V-Ti6Al4V-CoCrMo, and CoCrMo-Ti6Al4V-CoCrMo. The Ti6Al4V rod articulated against the metal alloy pins in a sinusoidal fretting motion with a displacement amplitude of ±50μm. Bovine calf serum (30g/L of protein content) was selected as a lubricant and tested at 2 different pH levels (pH 3.0 and 7.6). In all cases, current and friction energy were monitored during the fretting process. The results indicated distinct, material-specific current evolutions and friction energies. No significant differences were observed in electrochemical or mechanical behaviour in response to pH change. In general, Ti6Al4V-Ti6Al4V-Ti6Al4V couples displayed the earliest passivation and superior electrochemical behaviour compared to Ti6Al4V-Ti6Al4V-CoCrMo and CoCrMo-Ti6Al4V-CoCrMo under fretting conditions. In addition, fluctuations in current were observed in specific regions at all instances where Ti6Al4V was coupled with Ti6Al4V. These fluctuations were not observed in instances where Ti6Al4V was coupled with CoCrMo. These findings suggest transitions in the degradation mechanisms at the modular junction as a function of material couples/contacts. The findings may assist in improving the current hip modular junctions.