Titanium as Biomaterial for Implants

Bansilal Ramnath Agarwal Charitable Trust's

Vishwakarma Institute of Technology

(An Autonomous Institute affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University)

Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, 666, Upper Indiranagar, Bibwewadi, Pune, Maharashtra, INDIA - 411 037.

 

INTRODUCTION

    The field of biomaterials is on continuing increase due to the high demand of a growing population as well as the amplifying average weight of people. Titanium( Ti) and its fusions are extensively used for medical and dental implant devices — artificial joints, bone fixators, spinal fixators, dental implants, etc. — because they show excellent erosion resistance and good hard-tissue compatibility( bone conformation and bone cling capability).
    Titanium( Ti) materials, similar as commercially pure titanium( CP Ti) and Ti fusions are extensively used in medication and dentistry because of their large erosion resistance, large specific strength, and high performance in medication and dentistry.

Metallic biomaterials can be accessibly grouped in the following groups:

1. Stainless steel alloy
2. Titanium alloy
3. Cobalt base alloy
4. Specialty metal alloy

CHARACTERISTICS OF BIOMATERIALS

An ideal biomaterial is predicted to exhibit properties such as:

1. No adverse tissue response due to very high biocompatibility.
2. It has a density as low as that of bone.
3. High mechanical strength and fatigue resistance.
4. Low coefficient of elasticity and good wear resistance. 

MATERIAL PROPERTIES OF TITANIUM

    Careful choice of chemical composition and processing parameters allow to design titanium biomaterials for many biomedical applications. The characteristics of Ti-based biomaterials should be as close as possible into the characteristics of the body element that the implant replaces.

• Titanium Implants are extremely durable
• It's very lightweight
• Longer life
• It's anti-corrosive

Ti₆Al₄V

    The titanium material used for surgical implant materials is especially titanium and Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Ti-6Al-4V and commercial purity Ti are currently the foremost popular materials for implantation purposes. They are also been approved by the ASTM standard to understand more about Titanium alloys. 

BIOMATERIAL PROPERTIES OF TITANIUM IN DENTISTRY

• Titanium is extremely strong but lighter than even gold alloys, making it perfect for patients who need a snug, secure dental restoration.
• Titanium is taken into account to be a miracle metal in dentistry.
• Low thermal conductivity - This reduces the danger of pain or irritation related to dramatic temperature changes.
• The success rate of titanium dental implants is an astonishingly high 95 percent. Most dental implants can remain in situ for the rest of a patient’s life. Individual or multiple implants will be accustomed support crowns, bridges, or dentures for a secure, lasting, aesthetic tooth restoration options.
• It allows osseointegration - Osseointegration is that the process whereby your implant fuses together with your jaw. it always takes months for this to happen, and it’s a vital a part of the Implant process. There are only some materials known to create osseointegration – titanium being one in all them.
• Roughness modifications of Ti and Ti alloys, although proven to be very effective in improving their (bio) medical performance [2,3], don't alter their bioinert nature and hence further chemical modifications are needed so as to confirm rapid osseointegration.

Fig. 1 Use of Titanium in Dental Applications

Source - https://matmatch.com/resources/blog/titanium-for-biomedical-and-dental-applications/

TI BASED BIOMATERIALS - THE ULTIMATE CHOICE FOR ORTHOPAEDIC IMPLANTS

    Figure 2 shows the various components of a total hip replacement. On the left is the femoral stem made of a titanium alloy. The long round section fits down into the thigh bone or femur. The white section is a hydroxyapatite coating to encourage bone bonding to the implant. The hemispherical item on the right is the acetabular cup, also made from titanium alloy.

Fig. 2 Implant components for a total hip replacement

Source - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0079642508001126

Fig. 3 Titanium Femurs

Source - https://www.popsci.com/story/technology/artificial-bones-joints-titanium-femurs/

    Titanium femurs - These “megaprostheses” are only used as an extreme option. One of the main reasons a patient might need an artificial femur—called a “total femur” in the medical industry.

TITANIUM ROD IN BACK SURGERY

    Titanium implants are commonly utilized in spinal surgeries. The foremost important motivating consider using this sort of implant is that the high demand for faster recovery and fewer time. Although stainless-steel is additionally a functional implant, titanium has advantages that make it superior to steel. This alloy is as strong as stainless-steel but weighs half the maximum amount as steel. When titanium plates, plates, pins and rods are inserted into the body, they will last up to twenty years or more.

Fig. 4 Titanium Rod in Back Surgery

Source - https://monib-health.com/en/post/5-titanium-rods-in-back-surgery

Fig. 5 Surgical Titanium Screws

Source - https://matmatch.com/resources/blog/titanium-for-biomedical-and-dental-applications/

HEARTS KEPT TICKING WITH TITANIUM

    U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Library of drugs describes a pacemaker as an implant. The casing for the components is sometimes fabricated from Titanium. Titanium and two of its alloys, niobium, and tantalum, are biocompatible, they exhibit physical and mechanical properties superior to several other metals. The elastic modulus (measure of stiffness) of titanium and its alloys range between 100-120GPa. Extreme resistance to corrosion and sturdiness make titanium and its alloys ideal materials for hermetically sealed generator cases for cardiac pacemakers.

TIO₂ NANOSTRUCTURES

    They are one amongst the foremost promising recent emerging methods to get nanometre-scale surfaces; namely nanotubular structures with a controlled diameter within the range of 15–250 nm.[4]

• Nanotubes in drug delivery applications
• Nanotubes for antibacterial activity
• Nanotubes in dental and orthopedic implants

DISADVANTAGES:

• High cost because the number of processing energy and melting and casting difficulties.
• Higher coefficient of elasticity compared to bone
• Small number of individuals who are literally allergic to titanium.

 

CONCLUSION:

    Ti is that the most biocompatible material among metals. The mechanism of the biocompatibility of Ti is systematically being understood with the research on surface-treated materials. Ti is that the most bioactive material among metals, but it's less active than bioactive ceramics.  Ti-6Al-4V is dominant in orthopaedics. When considering the specified biomedical application, the alloy composition should be considered so as to supply the desired biocompatibility in addition because the necessary mechanical strength.

Table 1 Specifications of Titanium Alloys for Medical Use

Source - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00170/full

REFERENCES:

1. https://matmatch.com/resources/blog/titanium-for-biomedical-and-dental-applications/
2. L. Le Guehennec et al., "Surface treatments of titanium dental implants for rapid osseointegration", Dental Materials, Vol. 23, No. 7, p. 844-854, 2007.
3. A. Bango, C. Bello, "Surface treatments and roughness properties of Ti-based biomaterials", Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine, Vol. 15, p. 935-949, 2004.
4. M. Kulkarni, Titanium nanostructures for biomedical applications available online: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-4484/26/6/062002
5. Biomaterials and implants in cardiac and vascular surgery – review
6. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00170/full

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