Feasibility of scaffold production using Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy and naphthalene as space holder

Full text: The tissue engineering has as goal the repairing of bone defects, usually using a synthetic structure with pores in three dimensions, named scaffold. The structure of the scaffolds present interconnected pores, with controlled porosity, according to the process used to produce the scaffold. The present work has as main objective the processing of the Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy (percentages in weight) using the powder metallurgy technique named space-holder, to obtain porous scaffolds for osseointegration. Firstly, elementary powders of Ti, Nb, and Zr were weighted to obtain the composition 74wt.%Ti+13wt.%Nb+13wt.%Zr, such that 3.5g was direct mixed with naphthalene, named 'control' condition, and 3.5g was milled in a SPEX mill for 8h (sample MA8h), using grinding midia of tungsten carbide and isopropyl alcohol as process controlling agent. Both powders, in 'control' and MA8h conditions, were mixed with naphthalene powder (50% in volume and particle size in the range from 500μm to 1mm) for 30 minutes. The powders mixed with naftalen were pressed to obtain green bodies and sintered at 1000°C for 1h in vacuum better than 5 x 10^-5 mbar. The sintered samples were characterized using XRD, He picnometry, optical microscopy, SEM-EDX, and microhardness test. From the XRD results, it could be found the presence of titanium α and β phases, also present in the SEM-EDX analyses. The SEM analyses also showed, in the samples, the presence of widmantäten microstructure and a structure of pores, with size in the range from 300μm to 1mm. The observed pores were also interconnected and were connected to the surface. From the results of He picnometry and microscopy, it could be observed that the samples presented porosity in the range from 30% to 50% in volume. It could be concluded that it is possible to obtain scaffolds of the Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy using the techniques developed in the present work. (author)