Hot deformation and fatigue behaviour of a zinc base doped biocompatible material: characterization of plasma spray coating on surface

Abstract

Composite materials are natural or man-made substances put into the body to turn a living cell into a working organ. Bone tissue and biocompatibility are emerging as an alternative approach to regenerating bone due to some distinct advantages over autografting. This research aimed to fabricate a novel porous scaffold that can be utilized as a bone substitute. Zn-nHApx-Srx (x = 0, 3, 6, 9) was selected by different weight ratios and synthesized using the powder metallurgy method. The utilization of nanohydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) is due to its excellent biocompatibility with the human body. Polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) is incorporated to get enhanced biological performance. Plasma spray coating was performed on a zinc substrate using pure and doped biocomposites calcined at 800 °C. The biocomposites tensile strength increased between 0.4 and 19.8 MPa by increasing Zn and Sr weight ratios. In addition, 3% Sr/2.5% Zn with 2% of nHAp-PLGA composite showed improved hardness, which is beneficial for resembling bone tissue and die-casting fittings in automobile manufacturing applications. Mechanical properties, FT-IR, hot deformation behaviour, and SEM techniques help us understand the behaviour of Zn-Sr-nHAp in a vial containing PLGA. The highest ultimate tensile strength of 182 MPa and improved flow softening behaviour are achieved in a coated Zn/6% (nHAp-Sr) mixture suitable for biodegradable implant applications.