TOMSK, Apr 12 – RIA Tomsk. A team of scientists of Tomsk State University (TSU) is developing
import-substituting intellectual technology to create implants of new
generation with improved properties; the work is being carried out with the
support of the Russian Science Foundation (RSF), the project manager Sergey
Anikeev reported RIA Tomsk.
He specified that this is about creation of
biocompatible porous-permeable materials based on titanium nickelide (TiNi)
with a modified surface of the pore walls. The received porous alloys based on
TiNi have a high potential for replacing bone tissue defects in the human body.
The materials developed can be used in dentistry, maxillofacial surgery,
oncology and traumatology.
New implants – less rehabilitation time
The project is implemented on the basis of the
Laboratory for Medical Alloys and Shape Memory Implants of the Siberian
Physical-Technical Institute of Tomsk State University, funded by the Russian
Science Foundation: it received a grant on the "Conducting of Initiative
Research by Young Scientists" competition – 1.5 million rubles annually
for two years.
According to Anikeev, the team of young scientists is
tasked with developing porous materials for creating implants that shorten the
period of recovery and rehabilitation of patients. Scientists see the solution
to this problem in optimizing of the material's macrostructure (porosity,
average pore size, pore size distribution) and creation of the developed rough
pore wall surface.
"This approach will ensure the successful
integration of cell cultures in the pore space of the implant from the early
stages of interaction in the system "implant – body", – says Anikeev.
He explains that the scientific novelty of the project
lies in the development of technology for obtaining porous biocompatible
materials based on TiNi with the terrace-like surface structure of the pore
walls.
"The proposed technology is fundamentally
different from other approaches, since it involves creation of a terrace-like
surface of the pore walls at the stage of obtaining a porous material and does
not require additional specific treatments, which are particularly difficult
for porous alloys", – says the scientist.
He notes that the terrace-like structures on the
surface of the pore walls of porous TiNi have not been previously observed and
have not been studied in any scientific group working with TiNi-based alloys.
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"In the process of working on a PhD thesis, the
structural features of the terraces on the surface of the pore walls in
materials obtained by diffusion sintering were first described, and the
mechanisms and processes responsible for their formation were only to be
determined. This formed the basis of the project supported by the RSF", – Anikeev
added.
How to create a terrace for cells
The project manager explains: the main advantage of
the received structures on the surface of the pore walls is their dimensional
correspondence with living cells. This positively affects the adhesive
properties of a porous material based on TiNi.
Such structures are the primary places of attachment
of cells in the early stages of development in the pore space of the implant,
which further ensures the active growth of the cell mass.
"Researches of the state of pore space showed
that due to the presence of a developed terrace-like relief, the specific
surface area of the porous material increases by 35%, which is a significant
indicator of the effectiveness of the technique used. Only by sintering method
it was possible to activate the processes necessary to form the terrace-like
morphology of the pore wall surface", – says the scientist.
© предоставил Сергей АникеевThe structure of the pore wall surface with the developed terrace-like morphology
Future of the project
Currently, the project team determined the conditions
for the formation of a terrace-like relief in porous alloys based on titanium
nickelide, obtained by diffusion sintering method.
Also, scientists established the processes responsible
for the emergence of terraces on the surface of the pore walls. The results of
the research were published in journals indexed by the Web of Science and
Scopus, and presented at the international conferences.
According to Anikeev, the project results will serve
as the basis for the development of domestic technologies for obtaining new
biocompatible porous permeable TiNi materials with modified, developed rough
surface of the pore walls due to the formation of a terrace-like relief on the
surface of the pore walls.
The developed technology will allow to manufacture
implants for various areas of medicine – traumatology, dentistry, oncology.
"Successful implementation of the project will allow to receive scientific
and applied results with the aim of introducing them into the production
processes of creating implantable structures according to domestic technology,
which may provide an increase of import substitution in this area", – summarizes
the TSU scientist.