Developing composites of zinc and hydroxyapatite for degradable orthopedic implant applications

Abstract

In the present work, Zn-HA composites were developed by powder metallurgy route targeted for bone implant applicaitons. Zn-HA powders with varying HA content (1, 2, and 4 wt.%) were ball milled for 1 hr and sintered to produce composite compacts. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies were done for all the ball milled powders and sintered compacts. No impurities were observed in the ball milled powders. Microstructural observations revealed the formation of lamellar structure in the composites due to the plastic deformation of the Zn powders during ball milling. Grain size measurements revealed the decreased grain size with increase of addition of HA. Furthermore, aspect ratio (length to thickness ratio) of the grains was measured and found that the aspect ratio was also decreased with the increased HA content. Higher microhardness was measured for all the composites compared with pure Zn. However, composite with 1% has shown higher hardness compared with the remaining composites. Form the preliminary observations, it can be concluded that Zn-HA composites can be successfully produced with lamellar morphology by ball milling followed by sintering for biomedical applications with increased hardness.

Hot deformation and fatigue behaviour of a zinc base doped biocompatible material: characterization of plasma spray coating on surface

“…Mahesh et al [26] discovered this issue in high Zn/ HAp during sintering, quenching, and tempering conditions. However, this problem is not found in normalized and tempered alloys.…”

A Comprehensive Review of the Current Research Status of Biodegradable Zinc Alloys and Composites for Biomedical Applications

“…Mahesh et al [ 112 ] developed Zn-HA composites using the powder metallurgy method for use in temporary implants. They subjected Zn-HA powders with different amounts of HA (1, 2 and 4% by wt%) to ball milling for 1 h and then sintering.…”

“…Furthermore, measuring the granule’s length-to-thickness ratio showed that the aspect ratio decreased with increasing HA. The hardness value for all samples increased with the addition of reinforcement, and the highest hardness value was related to a 1 wt% reinforcement [ 112 ]. In another study, a Zn composite containing 8 wt% hydroxyapatite (Zn/HA8) was produced for the first time by extrusion.…”