21 Jul Titanium-Gold Compound May Extend LIfe of Joint Implants

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Emilia Morosan

Emilia Morosan PhD,  Professor
Rice University
Physics and Astronomy
Houston TX 77005

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? 

Dr. Morosan: My group works mainly on searching for compounds with magnetic properties. The first step in the characterization of such compounds is powder X-ray diffraction, which requires grinding the samples to fine powder. When we discovered such a compound based on (titanium) Ti and (gold) Au, we were unable to grind it because of its apparent hardness. This prompted the hardness measurement on the magnetic compound (with equal amounts of Ti and Au) and also on other mixtures of the two metals. The main result of this study was that the particular compound beta-Ti3Au was the hardest among all Ti-Au mixture in our study and compared to previous hardness measurements on these binary alloys. Most remarkable was the four-fold increase in hardens in beta-Ti3Au over Ti, or most other biocompatible engineering alloys. Furthermore, beta-Ti3Au also has higher wear resistance, meaning its durability extends beyond that of other alloys.

MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report? 

Dr. Morosan: Beta-Ti3Au may become a metal of choice for many applications where biocompatibility, hardness and good wear resistance are needed. It may be able to prolong the lifetime of medical implants or replacement joint, or even other non-medical components.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Morosan: We propose hypotheses to explain the hardness of beta-Ti3Au, but comprehensive theoretical studies are now needed to verify these and other possible scenarios. In turn, understanding the origin of the enhanced hardness may be key in designing future materials with optimal mechanical properties.

Citation:

High hardness in the biocompatible intermetallic compound β-Ti₃Au

BY ETERI SVANIDZE, TIGLET BESARA, M. FEVSI OZAYDIN, CHANDRA SEKHAR TIWARY, JIAKUI K. WANG, SRUTHI RADHAKRISHNAN, SENDURAI MANI, YAN XIN, KE HAN, HONG LIANG, THEO SIEGRIST, PULICKEL M. AJAYAN, E. MOROSAN

SCIENCE ADVANCES20 JUL 2016 : E1600319

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Last Updated on July 21, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD