Synthesis of Porous Composites Based on Electroexplosive Ti/Al Nanopowder for Bone Implants

Abstract

Bone tissue engineers are paying close attention to titanium and titanium oxide for use in orthopedic implants due to their good mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and low toxicity. A drawback of these materials is that there is an insufficient fit between the elastic moduli of titanium compounds and cortical bone, which leads to early bone degradation and implant failure as a result of improper load distribution. Here we report for the first time on TiO₂/Al₂O₃ composites with 20–50% porosity synthesized using bicomponent Ti/Al nanoparticles with an average size of 98 nm. The developed double sintering procedure allows the formation of transport pores through which the porogen and binder can be uniformly removed, and the use of Ti/Al nanoparticles allows the production of specimens with an optimal elastic modulus for cortical bone replacement (2.33 GPa) and low toxicity in in vitro experiments (more than 90% 3T3 cell viability, no more than 3.85% cell apoptosis). The concentration of ions released into the SBF solution depends on the specific surface area of the specimens, but in all cases it is significantly lower than the maximum permissible values. The obtained specimens have great potential for use as biomaterials for the manufacture of scaffolds and screws.