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Compositional dependence of the apatite formation ability of Ti–Zr alloys designed for hard tissue reconstruction

  • Biomaterials Synthesis and Characterization
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Abstract

Ti–Zr alloys are expected to be novel biomaterials with low stress shielding owing to their lower Young’s moduli than pure Ti. The drawback of metallic biomaterials is that their bone-bonding abilities are relatively low. NaOH and heat treatments have been performed to provide Ti–50Zr with apatite-forming ability in the body environment, which is essential for bone bonding. However, the systematic compositional dependence of apatite formation has not been revealed. In the present study, NaOH treatment of Ti–Zr alloys with various compositions and bone-bonding abilities was assessed in vitro by apatite formation in simulated body fluid (SBF). The corrosion current density in NaOH aqueous solution and the amount of Na incorporated into the surface tended to decrease with increasing Zr content. The apatite-forming ability of the treated alloy significantly decreased when the Zr content was ≥60 atom%. This phenomenon is attributed to the (1) low OH content on the surface, (2) low Na incorporation into the treated alloy surface, which enhances apatite formation, and (3) low ability of P adsorption to the Ti–Zr alloy in SBF following Ca adsorption to trigger apatite nucleation. Although the adhesion of the titanate/zirconate layer formed on the surfaces to the substrates increased as Zr content increased, the adhesion between the apatite and the substrate was still low.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Ms. Akiko Nomura and Mr. Kazuo Obara of the Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan for their assistance with sample alloy preparation. We thank Tim Cooper, Ph.D., from Edanz Group (www.edanzediting.com/ac) for editing a draft of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu, Japan

    Toshiki Miyazaki & Tomoya Hosokawa

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu, Japan

    Ken’ichi Yokoyama

  3. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan

    Takanobu Shiraishi

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  1. Toshiki Miyazaki
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  2. Tomoya Hosokawa
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  3. Ken’ichi Yokoyama
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  4. Takanobu Shiraishi
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Correspondence to Toshiki Miyazaki.

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Miyazaki, T., Hosokawa, T., Yokoyama, K. et al. Compositional dependence of the apatite formation ability of Ti–Zr alloys designed for hard tissue reconstruction. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 31, 110 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-020-06448-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-020-06448-9

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