Solution Process for Synthesizing Bioactive Nano-Mesh Layer on Ti-Based Bulk Metallic Glasses

Abstract

Ti based Bulk Metallic Glasses (BMGs) were treated by Hydrothermal (H), Electrochemical (E) and Hydrothermal-Electrochemical (H-E) processes in NaOH solution and all of these processes enabled fabrication of titanate nano-mesh structures on their surfaces. XPS data suggested that the amount of cytotoxic Cu was drastically decreased for the samples treated by H-E process. Specimens having nano-mesh structures on their surface were immersed in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) for 12 days. The results of the SBF test supported the fact that nano-mesh structures fabricated by these three methods have bioactivity. However, only the specimen treated by H-E process exhibited very good adhesion performance between the induced hydroxyapatite layer and substrate with intermediated titanate nanomesh layer. These results indicated that the H-E process was the best among three to fabricate a low cytotoxic bioactive nano-mesh layer on Ti-based BMG which enabled to induce hydroxyapatite layer with strong adhesion.

Acid Treatments of Ti-Based Metallic Glasses for Improving Corrosion Resistance in Implant Applications

“…Due to the high Cu content, standard surface treatments for implants, such as anodization (PEO/MA) for the generation of thicker oxide layers, are not applicable. Early approaches for surface treatments of Ti glasses involved costly physical methods like magnetron sputtering to generate a TiN-coating, complex multistep chemical-electrochemical treatments [23], or hydrothermal treatments [24], also with pre-calcification for apatite formation [25]. An effective electro-/chemical release of Cu from the near-surface regions of a Ti-based BMG is only possible when operating either in a strongly alkaline or strongly acidic regime [26].…”