Bioactivity and mechanical stability of Ti-6Al-4V implants superplastically embedded with hydroxyapatite in rats.

In this in vivo study, Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were used to investigate the bioactivity as well as the microstructural and mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V samples embedded with hydroxyapatite (HA) using two different coating methods-superplastic embedment (SPE) and superplastic deformation (SPD). The HA layer thickness for the SPE and SPD samples increased from 249.1 ± 0.6 nm to 874.8 ± 13.7 nm, and from 206.1 ± 5.8 nm to 1162.7 ± 7.9 nm respectively, after 12 weeks of implantation. The SPD sample exhibited much faster growth of newly formed HA compared to SPE. The growth of the newly formed HA was strongly dependent on the degree of HA crystallinity in the initial HA layer. After 12 weeks of implantation, the surface hardness value of the SPE and SPD samples decreased from 661 ± 0.4 HV to 586 ± 1.3 HV and from 585 ± 6.6 HV to 425 ± 86.9 HV respectively. The decrease in surface hardness values was due to the newly formed HA layer that was more porous than the initial HA layer. However, the values were still higher than the substrate surface hardness of 321 ± 28.8 HV. Wear test results suggest that the original HA layers for both samples were still strongly intact, and to a certain extent the newly grown HA layers also were strongly bound with the original HA layers. This study confirms the bioactivity and mechanical stability of the HA layer on both samples in vivo.

Mechanical and biological stability of superplastically embedded HA nanolayer deformed at high temperature.

In this study, HA is superplastically embedded into Titanium substrate and the sample is subsequently deformed superplastically until 70% deformation degree. The former process is termed as superplastic embedment (SPE) while the later as superplastic deformation (SPD). After the SPE, HA is successfully embedded into the substrate, forming a layer with a thickness of about 249 nm. After the SPD the embedded HA layer thickness decreases to 111 nm. The SPD sample is then immersed in simulated body fluid (SBF) to evaluate its biological properties. A newly grown apatite is formed as a result of the immersion and the HA layer thickness increases with immersion time. The cohesion and adhesion strength within the HA coating and coating-substrate interface of the SPD samples before and after immersion in the SBF is evaluated through the nanoscratch test technique. The results indicate that the HA layer after SPD is still strong even though after being exposed in SBF environment for quite some time. The study suggests that the superplastically embedded HA nanolayer is still intact mechanically and functioning appropriately as biological activity base even after the SPD process.