Metallic Biomaterials

Screw made of magnesium

Cost reduction and improvement of life quality is a major issue in health care. To avoid multiple revisions of implants a new approach of implant design is necessary. The major challenge to be faced in the field of metallic biomaterials for bone replacement is the development of functional implants, which consider the fact that bone is a dynamic system, which adopts its structure and strength locally to the experienced load.

Fluorescently labelled cell on a titanium surface with a biomimetic coating. The light green color is an indication that bone proteins are produced.

This will be taken into account for permanent Ti-based implants by developing suitable technologies for manufacturing a porous structure and elucidation of parameters to optimise surface chemistry guaranteeing a nearly perfect ingrowth and load distribution of the implant. For biodegradable Mg-based alloys, HZG investigate parameters influencing the tissue specific corrosion behaviour of newly produced alloys in order to develop materials which will enable the body to a selfregeneration process.

Contact