Exploring the Biomedical and Therapeutic Potential of Metallic Glasses

In recent years, a significant surge in interest around biomaterials has been raised due to their diverse array of types and considerable potential for future biomedical and bioengineering applications. Metallic glasses are newcomers in the biomedical fields. They offer a unique combination of properties not found in conventional biomaterials: high strength and wear resistance combined with outstanding elastic properties, corrosion resistance and isotropic behavior. Moreover, due to their amorphous structure, the bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) exhibit an unusual temperature-dependent mechanical behavior that enables plastics-like processability and offers new shape/surface design opportunities, which do not exist for crystalline metals [1,2].<br/>By fine-tuning the alloy composition and the processing routes/parameters, bio-mechanical and bio-chemical characteristics can be appropriately adjusted for specific biomedical applications [3]. BMGs have a great potential for small medical devices useful in dentistry (e.g. dental implants and suprastructures), orthopaedics and trauma surgery (e.g fracture fixation systems) and occlusive vascular diseases (e.g stents and aneurysm clips) [3-5,7].<br/>Ti-, Zr- and precious metal-based BMGs have been widely investigated as potential biomaterials especially for bone-related implant applications [4,5]. However, the major problem still facing the development of biomedical metallic glasses is the one of inducing amorphization without using any harmful alloying additions. We recently reviewed the biological safety and glass forming tendency in Ti of a series of alloying elements [3].<br/>In the present paper we discuss the underlying processes for amorphous phase formation, mechanical and biochemical behaviour as well as the biocompatibility of various Ni-free Ti- and Zr-based BMGs with potential for biomedicine [6]. For miniaturized implants like stents or aneurysm clips, besides the conventional biomedical properties, the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compatibility is required for the follow-up post-operative inspection and control. This talk will also include our recent results on MRI- compatible glassy Ti-Zr-Nb-Hf-Si alloys designed based on a high entropy alloys (HEAs) approach, by exploring the central region of multi-component alloy phase space [7].<br/> <br/>Funding from the European Commission within the H2020-MSCA BIOREMIA-ITN (grant agreement No. 861046) is gratefully acknowledged.<br/> <br/> <br/>[1] J. Schroers et al., JOM, 61 (2009) 21-29<br/>[2] A.L. Greer, Material Today, 12 (2009) 14-22<br/>[3] M. Calin et al., Mat. Sci. Eng. C 33 (2013) 875-883<br/>[4] M. Demetriou et al., JOM 62 (2010) 83-91<br/>[5] Y. Douest et al, Acta Biomaterialia 175 (2024) 411–421<br/>[6] S. Bera et al., Materials and Design, 120 (2017), 204-2011<br/>[7] M. Calin et al., Mat. Sci. Eng. C 121 (2021) 111733/1-7.