Porous Structure Characterization in Titanium Coating for Surgical Implants

Abstract

Powder metallurgy techniques have been used to produce controlled porous structures, such as the porous coatings applied for dental and orthopedic surgical implants, which allow bony tissue ingrowth within the implant surface improving fixation. This work presents the processing and characterization of titanium porous coatings of different porosity levels, processed through powder metallurgy techniques. Pure titanium sponge powders were used for coating and Ti-6Al-7Nb powder metallurgy rods were used as substrates. Characterization was made through quantitative metallographic image analysis using optical light microscope for coating porosity data and SEM analysis for evaluation of the coating/substrate interface integrity. The results allowed optimization of the processing parameters in order to obtain porous coatings that meet the requirements for use as implants.

Porous titanium scaffolds produced by powder metallurgy for biomedical applications

“…The porous titanium scaffold used in this study had a porosity of 36% and a mean interconnected pore diameter of 480 µm, allowing nutrients to enter the porous structure and form new bone. Earlier results we published about processing of scaffolds and porous coatings indicated that the size and quantity of titanium and spacer powders affect the resulting pore quantity and morphology 30,31,32 . Porous coatings with 11 to 24% porosity and pore sizes of 56 to 120 µm were produced with large titanium particles (500 µm) but without using spacer particles.…”

“…Porous coatings with 11 to 24% porosity and pore sizes of 56 to 120 µm were produced with large titanium particles (500 µm) but without using spacer particles. The pore morphology showed mostly closed pores and a few small regions with interconnected pores 31 . In a continuation of this research, coatings and scaffolds were produced from titanium, using urea as spacer, the former with a mean particle size of 160 µm and the latter 550 µm.…”

Porous Titanium by Powder Metallurgy for Biomedical Application: Characterization, Cell Citotoxity and in vivo Tests of Osseointegration

“…Materials produced by these methods present an interface between the dense core and porous coating [8,[60][61][62][63]. To overcome this problem a new method to produce titanium samples was to develop, that exhibit a dense core with an integrated porous surface, reducing the problems of displacing a porous coating [6,7,64].…”

Porous SiO2/HAp Coatings on Cp-Titanium Grade 1 Surfaces Produced by Electrophoretic Deposition

“…Porous coatings for stabilization of implant are an alternative to bone cement fixation. Such coatings exhibit a three-dimensional interconnected array of pores, which allows bone tissue ingrowth [5]. It is very challenging to deposit a porous nanocrystalline HAp coating with controlled pore size and good adhesion to the substrate for dental implants [6].…”