Bio-Environment-Induced Degradation and Failure of Internal Fixation Implants

Journal of Functional Biomaterials

Yan Zhou²  Luke A. Perkins¹  Guodong Wang³  Dongsheng Zhou³  Hong Liang² 

[1] Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; E-Mail:;Materials Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA; E-Mail:;Department of Orthopedic Trauma, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, China; E-Mails:

关键词: internal fixation;    surface degradation;    debris particles;    titanium;    stainless steel;    surface roughness;    microhardness;    failure mechanisms;    potentiodynamic polarization scans;   

DOI  :  10.3390/jfb6041012

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Internal fixations provide fast healing but their failure remains problematic to patients. Here, we report an experimental study in failure of three typical cases of metals: a bent intramedullary stainless steel nail, a broken exterior pure Ti plate, and a broken intramedullary stainless steel nail. Characterization of the bent nail indicates that those metals are vulnerable to corrosion with the evidence of increased surface roughness and embrittlement. Depredated surface of the Ti plate resulted debris particles in the surrounding tissue of 15.2 ± 6.5 μm in size. Nanoparticles were observed in transmission electron microscope. The electron diffraction pattern of the debris indicates a combination of nanocrystalline and amorphous phases. The failure mode of the broken nail made of stainless steel was found to be fatigue initiated from the surface. This study clearly shows the biological-attack induced surface degradation resulting in debris and fatigue. Future design and selection of implant materials should consider such factors for improvement.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.