Biomaterials Commons^™

Spark Plasma Sintering Of Low Modulus Titanium-Niobium-Tantalum-Zirconium (Tntz) Alloy For Biomedical Applications, Nicholas Mavros, Taban Larimian, Javier Esqivel, Rajeev Kumar Gupta, Rodrigo Contieri, Tushar Borkar

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

In metallurgy, titanium has been a staple for biomedical purposes. Its slow toxicity and alloying versatility make it an attractive choice for medical applications. However, studies have shown the difference in elastic modulus between titanium alloys (116 GPa) and human bone (10–40 GPa), which contributes to long term issues with loose hardware fixation. Additionally, long term studies have shown elements such as vanadium and aluminum, which are commonly used in Ti-6Al-4V biomedical alloys, have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer and Parkinson. Alternative metals known to be less toxic are being explored as replacements for alloying elements in titanium …