Cutting tools, which modify bone structures like human bone can generate wear particles within the body and experience corrosive processes due to the biological conditions of the human body - but today, a group of Colombian researchers are testing a solution to the problem.
According to a report by Fortune Business Insights, the global medical coatings market is expected to grow from USD 4.27bn in 2022 to USD 8.2bn in 2029.
In a recently published study, researchers from the Tribology, Polymers, Powder Metallurgy and Solid Waste Transformations Group (TPMR) at the Universidad del Valle (Univalle) tested a protective coating composed of ceramic materials that have characteristics very similar to human bone.
Christian Ortiz Ortiz, lead author of the research paper, an assistant professor at Univalle's School of Materials Engineering and a student in the PhD in Engineering programme, explained that there is a need to generate increasingly affordable devices based on coated steel that can compete with more expensive metal alloys such as titanium.
"Our goal is to generate devices with biocompatibility properties equal to the titanium alloys already on the market, but at a more affordable price," Professor Ortiz said.
Photo: Christian Ortiz Ortiz (right), assistant professor at Univalle, lead author of the scientific paper. Credit: Adolfo Cerron/NCC-FI/Univalle
The Research
In the article “Tribological Evaluation of [β- TCP/HA]n Multilayer Coatings Immersed in Biological Fluids”, published in the scientific journal Biotribology, the authors, including undergraduate students, described how they combined two materials hydroxyapatite (HA) and beta-phase tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) to form a multilayer system.
These ceramics have biocompatible and biodegradable properties, meaning they can integrate with natural bone tissue and be reabsorbed by the body over time - however, they have some limitations, for example, the materials are brittle in single or individual layers.
"The individual layers are ceramic structures, but when combined, they create a multi-layered system, with many interfaces, resulting in a material with better mechanical and tribological properties and better strength," Professor Ortiz said.
The team, led by Professor Christian Ortiz and Dr Julio César Caicedo Angulo, found that the application of multilayer coatings would provide improved surface, mechanical and tribological properties to steels, but would have an additional benefit: a potential reduction in patient infections. This line of research was initiated with the support of student Santiago Cuellar, in his undergraduate thesis at the School of Materials Engineering.
"One of the main challenges with conventional cutting tools that are made of steel is that this material oxidises, which can cause problems inside the body," Ortiz said, adding that the coatings significantly decrease cytotoxicity (damage to living cells) compared to steel alone.
In the lab, the researchers successfully simulated the biological conditions of the human body and surgical devices.
Laura Natalia Montilla a tenth semester undergraduate student in the Materials Engineering programme and a co-author of the scientific publication, explained the biggest challenge the researchers encountered was the creation of the biomedical device.
"We modified the conventional ones we dealt with in order to show the interaction between the bone structure, the cutting tool and the simulation of the specific medium," Montilla said.
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The Future
Willian Aperador Chaparro, a senior lecturer at the Universidad Militar Nueva Granada and a collaborator on a larger project with the same materials, explained that among the ambitions for the future, the researchers want to optimise these techniques and are looking to create composite materials that have better mechanical strength, greater porosity and higher bioactivity.
"We will develop different strategies, such as combining β-TCP and HA in different proportions, adding other components such as polymers or growth factors, or modifying the structure and morphology of the materials," Professor Aperador said.
Professor Ortiz said that in the future they hope to test these coatings in clinical settings.
"We want to take them to field tests, for example, on surgical saws and compare them in real time with steel," Profesor Ortiz said.
The project also had an impact on the undergraduate students who co-authored the scientific publication.
Daniela Grisales Martínez, a tenth semester undergraduate student in the Materials Engineering programme explained that the project has contributed significantly to her development as a future materials engineer and has brought a breakthrough to the field of engineering research in particular on new biomedical materials.
"This project has provided me with the opportunity to grow as a researcher by facing challenges such as improving my communication skills, the ability to interpret data and discuss it in a technical and scientific language.
Grisales has also contributed to the development and application of a new device within the Hard Coatings and Industrial Applications (RDAI) laboratory, which simulates bone structure-cutting tool interaction.
If you are interested in contacting the researcher or learning more about the project, please write to the Communications Office Faculty of Engineering: comunicaingenieria(at)correounivalle.edu.co
Cover photo: Student monitor, José Miguel Fuertes, during a trial run of the biomaterials project device. Credit: Adolfo Cerron/NCC-FI/Univalle
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