Special Issue "Advances in Metal-Based Biomedical Materials: Composition Design and Surface Modification"

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Biobased and Biodegradable Metals".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2023 | Viewed by 5490

Special Issue Editor

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
Interests: metallic biomaterials; antibacterial metal alloy; biodegradable metal alloy; titanium alloy for biomedical application; surface biomodification of metal alloy for biomedical application; antibacterial titanium alloy; magnesium alloy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Metal-based biomedical materials are an important type of biomaterials in clinical applications. The selection of suitable biomaterials depends on their properties, which include biocompatibility, bio-functionality, tribological properties, mechanical properties and surface bioactivity. Different metallic biomaterials obtained by composition design and surface modifications have been utilized for implants according to their different applications.

Composition design plays a very important role in the development of metal-based biomedical materials. For instance, chromium used in stainless steel could improve corrosion resistance. Silver and copper are normally alloying elements with regard to the development of antibacterial alloys, whereas nickel can cause allergic reactions.

In addition, the surface modification of metal alloys can change the surface physical and chemical properties, which in turn influences the surface compatibility and bioactivity.

The submissions to this Special Issue should focus on variations in properties and influencing mechanisms according to different composition designs or surface modifications. This Special Issue aims to show readers the most up-to-date research on composition design and surface modifications in the development of metal-based biomaterials.

Prof. Dr. Erlin Zhang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biometallic materials, including stainless steel and titanium alloys, as well as cobalt, magnesium, zinc and iron alloys, etc.
  • biomedical materials
  • composition design
  • surface modifications
  • corrosion properties
  • biocompatibility and bioactivity
  • biomedical applications

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

Article
Development of Zn–Mg–Ca Biodegradable Dual-Phase Alloys
Metals 2023, 13(6), 1095; https://doi.org/10.3390/met13061095 - 09 Jun 2023
Viewed by 603
Abstract
In this paper, in order to achieve the development of a novel biodegradable dual-phase alloy in a Ca–Mg–Zn system, the establishment of the control strategy of degradation behavior of alloys composed of two phases was attempted by the control of alloy composition, constituent [...] Read more.
In this paper, in order to achieve the development of a novel biodegradable dual-phase alloy in a Ca–Mg–Zn system, the establishment of the control strategy of degradation behavior of alloys composed of two phases was attempted by the control of alloy composition, constituent phases, and microstructure. By combining two phases with different dissolution behavior, biodegradable alloys are expected to exhibit multiple functions. For example, combining a suitable slow dissolving phase with a faster dissolving second phase may allow for dynamical concavities formation during immersion on the surface of the alloy, assisting the invasion and establishment of bone cells. Without the careful control of the microstructure, however, there is a risk that such dual-phase alloy rapidly collapses before the healing of the affected area. In this study, ten two-phase alloys consisting of various different phases were prepared and their degradation behaviors were examined. Consequently, it was found that by combining the IM3 and IM1 intermetallic phases with the compositions of Ca2Mg5Zn13 and Ca3Mg4.6Zn10.4, the expected degradation behavior can be obtained. Full article
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Article
Enhancing the Antibacterial Properties and Biocompatibility of Ti-Cu Alloy by Roughening and Anodic Oxidation
Metals 2022, 12(10), 1726; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12101726 - 14 Oct 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 843
Abstract
Although Ti-Cu alloys have been shown to possess good antibacterial properties, they are still biologically inert. In this study, sandblasting and acid etching combined with anodic oxidation were applied to roughen the surface as well as to form a TiO2/CuO/Cu2 [...] Read more.
Although Ti-Cu alloys have been shown to possess good antibacterial properties, they are still biologically inert. In this study, sandblasting and acid etching combined with anodic oxidation were applied to roughen the surface as well as to form a TiO2/CuO/Cu2O composite film, which would benefit both the antibacterial properties and the biocompatibility. The surface morphology, the phase composition, and the physicochemical properties were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Electrochemical testing and inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (ICP) were used to determine the corrosion resistance and Cu ion release, the plate counting method was used to evaluate the antibacterial performance, and the CCK-8 method was used to evaluate the cytocompatibility. It was revealed that a rough surface with densely porous double layer composed of TiO2/CuO/Cu2O was produced on Ti-Cu alloy surface after the combined surface modification, which enhanced the corrosion resistance significantly. The plate counting results demonstrated that the modified sample had strong long-term antibacterial performance (antibacterial rate > 99%), which was attributed to the formation of TiO2/CuO/Cu2O composite film. The cell compatibility evaluation results indicated that the surface modification improved the cytocompatibility. It was demonstrated that the combined modification provided very strong antibacterial ability and good cytocompatiblity, potentially making it a good candidate surface modification technique for Ti-Cu alloy for biomedical applications. Full article
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Article
Synergistic Effect of Ni and Cu on the Microstructure, Corrosion Properties and Mechanical Properties of As-Cast Biomedical Co-Based Alloy
Metals 2022, 12(8), 1322; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12081322 - 06 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1240
Abstract
The microstructure, phase component, corrosion resistance, microhardness, and mechanical property of the as-cast CoCrW-(0~5)Ni-(1~4)Cu alloys were investigated to reveal the synergistic effect of Ni and Cu by using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis, microhardness tests, and compression tests. The alloys [...] Read more.
The microstructure, phase component, corrosion resistance, microhardness, and mechanical property of the as-cast CoCrW-(0~5)Ni-(1~4)Cu alloys were investigated to reveal the synergistic effect of Ni and Cu by using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis, microhardness tests, and compression tests. The alloys exhibited coarse grains consisting of dendritic substructures. No precipitate was observed in the alloys, but dendritic segregation of Cu in the interdendritic regions and grain boundaries was observed. The phase component of all alloys consists of γ phase and ε phase; the ε phase fraction decreased with increasing Ni or Cu content. The corrosion resistance of these alloys decreased with increasing Cu content when the Cu content was greater than 1 wt.%. The addition of Cu or Ni reduced the hardness significantly. The compressive yield strength showed an increasing tendency with increasing Cu content, but the influence of Ni content on compressive yield strength was limited. The results demonstrated that it should be feasible to fabricate a new biomedical CoCrWNiCu alloy by regulating Ni and Cu content, which should be a new development direction of Co-based alloy. Full article
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Article
The Influence of Copper Content on the Elastic Modulus and Antibacterial Properties of Ti-13Nb-13Zr-xCu Alloy
Metals 2022, 12(7), 1132; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12071132 - 01 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1183
Abstract
Device-related infection or inflammatory and stress shield are still the main problems faced by titanium alloy implants for long-term implantation application; therefore, it is of great significance to design an alloy with low elastic modulus and good antibacterial properties as well as good [...] Read more.
Device-related infection or inflammatory and stress shield are still the main problems faced by titanium alloy implants for long-term implantation application; therefore, it is of great significance to design an alloy with low elastic modulus and good antibacterial properties as well as good biocompatibility. In this paper, Ti-13Nb-13Zr-xCu(x = 3, 7 wt.%) alloys were designed and prepared to reveal the influence of Cu content on the elastic modulus and antibacterial property. X-ray diffractometer, metallographic microscope, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope were used to study the phase transformation, microstructure, mechanical properties, antibacterial properties, and cytotoxicity of the alloys. The experimental results have demonstrated that the antibacterial performance and the elastic modulus were significantly improved but the corrosion resistance deteriorated with the increase of the copper content. Ti-13Nb-13Zr-3Cu with a low modulus of 73 GPa and an antibacterial rate of over 90% against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) exhibited great potential as a candidate for implant titanium in the future. Full article
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Article
Construction of a Rough Surface with Submicron Ti2Cu Particle on Ti-Cu Alloy and Its Effect on the Antibacterial Properties and Cell Biocompatibility
Metals 2022, 12(6), 1008; https://doi.org/10.3390/met12061008 - 13 Jun 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1123
Abstract
Titanium-copper (Ti-Cu) alloy is an advanced antibacterial material with excellent mechanical properties, thermodynamic stability, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. Sandblasting and acid-etching was applied to the Ti-3Cu alloy to construct a rough surface with Ti2Cu phase on the surface in order to [...] Read more.
Titanium-copper (Ti-Cu) alloy is an advanced antibacterial material with excellent mechanical properties, thermodynamic stability, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. Sandblasting and acid-etching was applied to the Ti-3Cu alloy to construct a rough surface with Ti2Cu phase on the surface in order to improve the antibacterial properties and the osseointegration. The phase constitutes and the physical properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), and the surface chemical properties were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical testing. The antibacterial property was assessed by the plate-count method and the cell compatibility was evaluated by the CCK-8 test in order to reveal the effect of surface characteristics on the antibacterial ability and bioactivity. The results demonstrated a rough and lamellar surface structure with many submicron Ti2Cu particles on the surface of Ti-3Cu, which could enhance the antibacterial ability and promote the cell proliferation and the initial adhesion of osteoblasts. However, the surface treatment also reduced the corrosion resistance and accelerated the Cu ion release. Full article
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