Biomaterials Exam #2 Review

Joseph Molde
10/30/18
About Me
• 5th year doctoral student working with Dr. Joachim Kohn
• B.Sc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota
• Drug Delivery, Tissue Engineering, Additive Manufacturing
– Development of printable biomaterials
– Biochemical cues and artificial ECM
– Localized drug delivery for immunosuppression
 Review

Lectures 8-14 + Dr. Freeman’s Lecture + 2 papers on wound dressings

Metals – Ceramics – Polymers – Composites – Naturally-derived – Collagen

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1. Describe the mechanisms of corrosion resistance of Cr, Mo
and Ni alloying elements in stainless steel.
• Chromium forms dense, stable (protective) oxide layer (PASSIVATION)
• Molybdenum traps residual carbon, preventing formation of chromium
carbide at grain boundaries (minimization of pitting)
• Nickel has FCC structure which is more corrosion-resistant than SCC or
BCC

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2. What is the stress shielding effect? What strategies could
potentially address the issue?
• Use it or loose it. Refers to reduction in bone density as a result of
removing normal stress from the bone by an implant. One
approach is to develop materials with a Young’s modulus closer to
that of bone.

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3. Label the standard knee implant shown below with the most
common material used for each component.

CoCrMo - Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene - CoCrMo

• What benefits does this alloy give that makes it attractive as a biomaterial?
Fatigue resistance, wear resistance, corrosion resistance
• A patient with metal hypersensitivity is looking to have knee replacement surgery.
What material would you suggest to use in the femoral flange and tibial
component of a knee prosthesis for this individual? What are the benefits of
making this change?
Ti-6Al-4Nb – Minimal corrosion, better bone bonding
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4. What mechanism is responsible for the shape memory of
Nitinol (TiNi alloys)?
• Reversible diffusionless phase transformation. The crystal structure
transformation is reversible.

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5. In the figure below, what mass of the alloy is the solid α–Pb
phase and what mass of the alloy is the liquid (L) phase?

tie line
A

13wt% 34wt%

Overall composition is 25wt% tin

Composition of a-Pb is 13wt% tin
Composition of liquid is 34wt% tin
Using the Lever rule and Fa+FL=1
then 13 Fa + 34 (1-Fa) = 25
where Fa is the fraction of the total mass that is a-Pb and FL is in liquid
Hence:
Fa =(25-34)/(13-34) = 9/21 = 0.43
So mass that is a-Pb is 0.43 x 100 grams = 43 grams 7
and mass that is liquid = 57 grams
6. Describe the 3 generations of bioceramics, including their
bioactivities and main clinical concerns to be addressed.
• Generation 1 materials are inert; cause no harm to the body
• Generation 2 materials are surface bioactive; bond to host bone and
minimize loosening
• Generation 3 materials are degradable; absorbs and encourages tissue
regeneration, eliminates residual material

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7. Describe congruent and incongruent joints, and how you
would select a biomaterial for these two joints
• Congruent: hips, and shoulders. Ball-head fits snugly into a cup-like
socket and stress is evenly distributed. Mechanical loads can be
sustained by any strong material including brittle ceramics.

• Incongruent: knee and ankle joints. Contact of 2 opposed hard

surfaces is like a ball on a flat plate. At contact point, there are
highly concentrated stresses. Brittle ceramics cannot sustain this,
so metals and polymers are preferred.

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8. Do amorphous or crystalline materials degrade faster?
Explain your answer.
Amorphous; biodegradation of ceramics and polymers proceeds in a
diffuse manner. Crystallites are more closely packed than in
amorphous structures, thus diffusion is faster in amorphous networks.

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9. What are the components of bioactive glass, and explain
why they are generally biocompatible? Which component of a
bioactive glass would you increase to make it degrade faster?
• SiO2-Na2O-CaO-P2O3. Biocompatible because they are composed of
ions found in the body, except for Si.

• Increasing Na2O would make it degrade faster.

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10. Which metal processing technique is best for creating
complex shapes with dimensional accuracy?
• 3D printing, usually Selective Laser Sintering (SLS)

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11. Describe three mechanisms of bone bonding

• Chemical (ionic or covalent)

Non-mechanical interactions between molecules
• Mechanical (physical)
Bone grows into the porous surface of implants. This mechanism has
been used in titanium alloy implants
• Biological
Collagen can grow into the hydroxyapatite surface layer

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12. How does annealing strengthen glass?

• Annealing removes internal stresses caused by uneven cooling

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13. What is a functional group on a polymer? List 5 examples
and draw the structure.
• Functional groups are groups of atoms that contribute some
properties besides C-C and C-H bonds.
• Examples:

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14. What properties make PTFE ideal for vascular implants?

• Resists wetting
• Flexible
• Inert

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15. Why does poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) have good
flexibility?
• Large benzyl groups in the main chain lowers the contact angle
between molecules and decreases their intramolecular interaction
therefore making PET more flexible.

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16. Given the table below for a sample of polypropylene,
calculate:
Molecular Weight Range xi w1
(g/mol)
8,000-16,000 0.05 0.02
16,000-24,000 0.16 0.10
24,000-32,000 0.24 0.20
32,000-40,000 0.28 0.30
40,000-48,000 0.20 0.27
48,000-56,000 0.07 0.11

(a) The number average molecular weight

Mn=∑ "# $# where Mi is the mean molecular weight for each range
Mn = 33,040 g/mol
(b) The weight average molecular weight
Mw=∑ %# $# where Mi is the mean molecular weight for each range
Mw = 36,240 g/mol
(c) The degree of polymerization for the given polypropylene material
For polypropylene the repeat unit molecular weight is 42.08 g/mol
)* ,,,./. 0/+23
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Therefore &' = = = 785
+ /4..6 0/+23
17. Rank the materials in order of degradation rate from
fastest to slowest
A. PGA
B. PLLA
C. PLGA (75:25)
D. PLGA (50:50)

PLGA (50:50) > PLGA (75:25) > PGA > PLLA

(a) What is the mechanism of degradation for these polymers?

Abiotic degradation (Hydrolytic degradation) Water diffuses in to the
amorphous region and cleaves the ester bonds. Erosion of amorphous region
exposes crystalline portions.
(a) Give an example of where one of these polymers is used in
biomaterials.
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Sutures, stents, drug delivery…
18. Where might you use:
1. Al2O3? 1. Head-on-cup socket in hip
2. Ti-6Al-4V? 2. Knee replacement
3. Ca10(PO4 )6 (OH)2? 3. Bone void filler, implant coating
4. 316L Stainless Steel? 4. Nails, humeral stem
5. PTFE? 5. Vascular graft

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19. What material might you use for:
1. An orthodontic wire? 1. Nitinol
2. A tooth filling? 2. Amalgam of Hg/Ag/Sn or
3. A bone screw? noble metals (Ag/Au)
4. The stem of a hip implant? 3. 316L Stainless steel
4. CoCrMb
5. A pacemaker case?
5. Titanium
6. A wound dressing?
6. PLGA

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20. Water corresponds to ~ 20 vol% of some bones in mammals. On a dry
wt basis, ~ 70 wt% of the bone is composed of carbonated apatite
(density=~3.0 g/cm3). Density of dry collagen~ 1.2 g/cm3.

a) Calculate the volume percentages of hydroxylapatite and collagen

in dry bone
b) Calculate the volume percentages of water, HA and collagen in
vivo (in the body).

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Questions?

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