Investigation of wear conditions of a composite material based on an anti-friction alloy AO20-1 reinforced with Ti particles

Сomposite material samples were obtained by the method of reaction casting by mixing titanium particles to obtain intermetallic phases Al3Ti. Dry sliding wear tests were carried out using a fixed sleeve (steel 45) against a rotating disk (sample) at sliding speeds from 0.25 to 0.75 m/s and loads from 0.5 to 3.5 MPa.There were constructed maps of wear rate, which determine the friction modes during testing. There were shown boundaries and conditions of changing wear modes.

Cytotoxicity of Ti/SS316/Mg Particles on Human Osteoblasts

Daily walking or exercise of the bone implant recipients may generate particles due to wear and tear. Reports have mentioned that particles could circulate in the human body and trigger aseptic loosening, inflammation, and other potential complications. The mechanism of these phenomena remains mostly unclear. This study is to investigate the cytotoxicity of titanium (Ti), stainless steel 316 (SS316), and magnesium (Mg) particles due to these materials are the most commonly used biomaterials based on their adequate mechanical properties and excellent biocompatibility. Human osteoblasts (SAOS2 cells) were exposed directly to different concentrations of Ti/SS316/Mg particle during the direct cytotoxicity test. Together with the previous study, we found out that Ti particles showed cytotoxicity to osteoblasts at different dosages and times, while SS316 particles and Mg particles (low dosage) can reduce the cytotoxicity induced by Ti particles and boost cell viability. Mg particles can be toxic to osteoblast at a higher dosage, while SS316 particles are “safer” than Mg particles at higher dosages. Cell viability and cell morphology of SAOS2 cells under different treatments were observed at 2/3/5 days. This study found out that cell viability could be enhanced with certain combinations of Ti/SS316/Mg particles. This can give us certain guideline on how to design and fabricate a hybrid bone implant. However, how to quantify the particles inside the human body in real-time, and the exact interaction among particles, cells, tissues, and even organs require further research.

Ti-Ions and/or Particles in Saliva Potentially Aggravate Dental Implant Corrosion

The corrosive titanium products in peri-implant tissues are a potential risk factor for peri-implantitis. There is very limited information available on the effect of the corrosion and wear products on the dental implant corrosion. Therefore, we determined the influence of Ti-ions and Ti-particles on Ti corrosion. Eighteen commercially pure-Ti-grade-2 discs were polished to mirror-shine. Samples were divided into six groups (n = 3) as a function of electrolytes; (A) Artificial saliva (AS), (B) AS with Ti-ions (the electrolyte from group A, after corrosion), (C) AS with Ti-particles 10 ppm (D) AS with Ti-particles 20 ppm, (E) AS with Ti-ions 10 ppm, and (F) AS with Ti-ions 20 ppm. Using Tafel’s method, corrosion potential (Ecorr) and current density (Icorr) were estimated from potentiodynamic curves. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) data were used to construct Nyquist and Bode plots, and an equivalent electrical circuit was used to assess the corrosion kinetics. The corroded surfaces were examined through a 3D-white-light microscope and scanning electronic microscopy. The data demonstrated that the concentration of Ti-ions and corrosion rate (Icorr) are strongly correlated (r = 0.997, p = 0.046). This study indicated that high Ti-ion concentration potentially aggravates corrosion. Under such a severe corrosion environment, there is a potential risk of increased implant associated adverse tissue reactions.

Types of Component Interfaces in Metal Matrix Composites on the Example of Magnesium Matrix Composites

In this paper, a summary of investigations of the microstructure of cast magnesium matrix composites is presented. Analyses of the interfaces between the reinforcing particles and the magnesium alloy matrices were performed. Technically pure magnesium and four various alloys with aluminum and rare earth elements (RE) were chosen as the matrix. The composites were reinforced with SiC and Ti particles, as well as hollow aluminosilicate cenospheres. Microstructure analyses were carried out by light, scanning, and transmission electron microscopy. The composites with the matrix of magnesium and magnesium–aluminum alloys with SiC and Ti particles exhibited coherent interfaces between the components. In the composites based on ternary magnesium alloy with Al and RE with Ti particles, a high-melting Al2RE phase nucleated on the titanium. Different types of interfaces between the components were observed in the composites based on the magnesium–rare earth elements alloy with SiC particles, in which a chemical reaction between the components caused formation of the Re3Si2 phase. Intensive chemical reactions between the components were also observed in the composites with aluminosilicate cenospheres. Additionally, the influence of coatings created on the aluminosilicate cenospheres on the bond with the magnesium matrix was presented. A scheme of the types of interfaces between the components is proposed.

Sclerostin-Mediated Impaired Osteogenesis by Fibroblast-Like Synoviocytes in the Particle-Induced Osteolysis Model

Engineered biomaterials are envisioned to replace, augment, or interact with living tissues for improving the functional deformities associated with end-stage joint pathologies. Unfortunately, wear debris from implant interfaces is the major factor leading to periprosthetic osteolysis. Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) populate the intimal lining of the synovium and are in direct contact with wear debris. This study aimed to elucidate the effect of Ti particles as wear debris on human FLSs and the mechanism by which they might participate in the bone remodeling process during periprosthetic osteolysis. FLSs were isolated from synovial tissue from patients, and the condition medium (CM) was collected after treating FLSs with sterilized Ti particles. The effect of CM was analyzed for the induction of osteoclastogenesis or any effect on osteogenesis and signaling pathways. The results demonstrated that Ti particles could induce activation of the NFκB signaling pathway and induction of COX-2 and inflammatory cytokines in FLSs. The amount of Rankl in the conditioned medium collected from Ti particle–stimulated FLSs (Ti CM) showed the ability to stimulate osteoclast formation. The Ti CM also suppressed the osteogenic initial and terminal differentiation markers for osteoprogenitors, such as alkaline phosphate activity, matrix mineralization, collagen synthesis, and expression levels of Osterix, Runx2, collagen 1α, and bone sialoprotein. Inhibition of the WNT and BMP signaling pathways was observed in osteoprogenitors after the treatment with the Ti CM. In the presence of the Ti CM, exogenous stimulation by WNT and BMP signaling pathways failed to stimulate osteogenic activity in osteoprogenitors. Induced expression of sclerostin (SOST: an antagonist of WNT and BMP signaling) in Ti particle–treated FLSs and secretion of SOST in the Ti CM were detected. Neutralization of SOST in the Ti CM partially restored the suppressed WNT and BMP signaling activity as well as the osteogenic activity in osteoprogenitors. Our results reveal that wear debris–stimulated FLSs might affect bone loss by not only stimulating osteoclastogenesis but also suppressing the bone-forming ability of osteoprogenitors. In the clinical setting, targeting FLSs for the secretion of antagonists like SOST might be a novel therapeutic approach for preventing bone loss during inflammatory osteolysis.

Melatonin alleviates titanium nanoparticles induced osteolysis via activation of butyrate/GPR109A signaling pathway

Background Inflammatory osteolysis after total joint replacement (TJR) may cause implant failure, periprosthetic fractures, and be a severe threat to global public health. Our previous studies demonstrated that melatonin had a therapeutic effect on wear-particles induced osteolysis. Gut microbiota is closely related to bone homeostasis, and has been proven to be affected by melatonin. However, whether melatonin could play its anti-osteolysis effects through reprogramming gut microbiota remains elusive. Results Here, we demonstrated that melatonin could alleviate Ti-particles induced osteolysis, while this therapeutic effect was blocked by antibiotic cocktail treatment. Interestingly, transplantation of fecal microbiota from mice treated with melatonin reappeared the same beneficial effect. Analysis of the 16S rRNA revealed that melatonin could reverse dysbacteriosis triggered by osteolysis, and elevate the relative abundance of some short chain fatty acid (SCFA) producing bacteria. Moreover, butyrate was enriched by exogenous melatonin administration, while acetate and propionate did not show an evident difference. This was consistent with the results of the metagenomic approach (PICRUSt2) analysis, which revealed a general increase in the synthetic enzymes of butyrate. More importantly, direct supplementation of butyrate could also recapitulate the anti-osteolysis effect of melatonin. Further analysis identified that butyrate alleviated osteolysis via activating its receptor GPR109A, and thus to suppress the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome triggered by Ti-particles. Conclusions Taken together, our results suggested that the benefits of melatonin mainly depend on the ability of modulating gut microbiota and regulating butyrate production. Graphic Abstract

Flux-pinning behaviors and mechanism according to dopant level in (Fe, Ti) particle-doped $$\text {MgB}_2$$ superconductor

We have studied flux-pinning effects of $$\text {MgB}_2$$ MgB 2 superconductor by doping (Fe, Ti) particles of which radius is 163 nm on average. 5 wt.% (Fe, Ti) doped $$\text {MgB}_2$$ MgB 2 among the specimens showed the best field dependence of magnetization and 25 wt.% one did the worst at 5 K. The difference of field dependence of magnetization of the two specimens increased as temperature increased. Here we show experimental results of (Fe, Ti) particle-doped $$\text {MgB}_2$$ MgB 2 specimens according to dopant level and the causes of the behaviors. Flux-pinning effect of volume defects-doped superconductor was modeled in ideal state and relative equations were derived. During the study, we had to divide M-H curve of volume defect-dominating superconductor as three discreet regions for analyzing flux-pinning effects, which are diamagnetic increase region after $$\text {H}_{c1}$$ H c 1 , $$\Delta \text {H}=\Delta \text {B}$$ Δ H = Δ B region, and diamagnetic decrease region. As a result, flux-pinning effects of volume defects decreased as dopant level increased over the optimal dopant level, which was caused by decrease of flux-pinning limit of a volume defect. And similar behaviors are obtained as dopant level decreased below the optimal dopant level, which was caused by the decreased number of volume defects. Comparing the model with experimental results, deviations increased as dopant level increased over the optimal dopant level, whereas the two was well matched on less dopant level. The behavior is considered to be caused by the segregation of the volume defects. On the other hand, the cause that diamagnetic properties of over-doped $$\text {MgB}_2$$ MgB 2 specimens dramatically decreased as temperature increased was the double decreases of flux-pinning limit of a volume defect and the segregation effect, which are caused by over-doping and temperature increase.