Copper (Cu) and its alloys are prospective materials in fighting covid-19 virus and several microbial pandemics, due to its excellent antiviral as well as antimicrobial properties. Even though many studies have proved that copper and its alloys exhibit antiviral properties, this research arena requires further research attention. Several studies conducted on copper and its alloys have proven that copper-based alloys possess excellent potential in controlling the spread of infectious diseases. Moreover, recent studies indicate that these alloys can effectively inactivate the covid-19 virus. In view of this, the present article reviews the importance of copper and its alloys in reducing the spread and infection of covid-19, which is a global pandemic. The electronic databases such as ScienceDirect, Web of Science and PubMed were searched for identifying relevant studies in the present review article. The review starts with a brief description on the history of copper usage in medicine followed by the effect of copper content in human body and antiviral mechanisms of copper against covid-19. The subsequent sections describe the distinctive copper based material systems such as alloys, nanomaterials and coating technologies in combating the spread of covid-19. Overall, copper based materials can be propitiously used as part of preventive and therapeutic strategies in the fight against covid-19 virus.

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Percutaneous coronary intervention with the aid of cardiovascular stents is the widely used therapeutic procedure for treating occlusive vascular diseases associated with the plaque deposition inside blood vessels. In spite of the momentous evolution and innovations in the field of medical technologies as well as biomaterial science, cardiovascular stents are still associated with several limitations. The introduction of bare metal stents, which revolutionized the field of interventional cardiology, was later hampered by the occurrence of restenosis (recurrence of arterial narrowing after surgery) and target lesion revascularization (repeated percutaneous intervention or revascularization within a stent) (Nordrehaug, Wiseth, & Bønaa, 2016; Piccolo et al., 2019). Repeated attempts to correct stenotic regions can often result in rupture of vessel that can elicit blood clot formation (thrombosis) or even lead to life-threatening haemorrhage (Farooq and Gogas Bill, 2011). Restenosis occurrence originating from proliferative neointimal tissue growth in response to strut-related injury and inflammation can be clinically evident typically within 6-9 months after stent placement (Alfonso, Byrne, Rivero, & Kastrati, 2014; Moliterno, 2005). In order to specifically address the restenosis problem, the first-generation drug-eluting stents with a drug-loaded (paclitaxel) polymer coating on a metallic platform (316L stainless steel) were de

Heat treatment of metastable beta titanium alloys involves essentially two steps-solution treatment in beta or alpha+beta phase field and aging at appropriate lower temperatures. High strength in beta titanium alloys can be developed via solution treatment followed by aging by precipitating fine alpha (α) particles in a beta (β) matrix. Volume fraction and morphology of α determine the strength whereas ductility is dependent on the β grain size. Solution treatment in (α + β) range can give rise to a better combination of mechanical properties, compared to solution treatment in the β range. However, aging at some temperatures may lead to a low/nil-ductility situation and this has to be taken into account while designing the aging step. Heating rate to aging temperature also has a significant effect on the microstructure and mechanical properties obtained after aging. In addition to α, formation of intermediate phases such as omega, beta prime during decomposition of beta phase has been a subject of detailed studies. In addition to covering these issues, the review pays special attention to heat treatment of beta titanium alloys for biomedical applications, in view of the growing interest this class of alloys have been receiving.

The unique combination of attributes-high strength to weight ratio, excellent heat treatability, a high degree of hardenability, and a remarkable hot and cold workability-has made beta titanium alloys an attractive group of materials for several aerospace applications. Titanium alloys, in general, possess a high degree of resistance to biofluid environments; beta titanium alloys with high molybdenum equivalent have low elastic modulus coming close to that of human bone, making them particularly attractive for biomedical applications. Bulk processing of the alloys for aerospace applications is carried out by double vacuum melting followed by hot working. There have been many studies with reference to super-solvus and sub-solvus forging of beta titanium alloys. For alloys with low to medium level of molybdenum equivalent, sub-solvus forging was demonstrated to result in a superior combination of mechanical properties. A number of studies have been carried out in the area of heat treatment of beta titanium alloys. Studies have also been devoted to surface modification of beta titanium alloys. The chapter attempts to review these studies, with emphasis on aerospace and biomedical applications.

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