Long Gu

Bio: Long Gu is an academic researcher from Jilin University. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 1 citations.

Sol–gel-assisted micro-arc oxidation synthesis and characterization of a hierarchically rough structured Ta–Sr coating for biomaterials

Abstract: Tantalum (Ta) is an element with high chemical stability and ductility that is used in orthopedic biomaterials. When utilized, it can produce a bioactive surface and enhance cell–material interactions, but currently, there exist scarce effective methods to introduce the Ta element onto the surface of implants. This work reported a sol–gel-assisted approach combined with micro-arc oxidation (MAO) to introduce Ta onto the surface of the titanium (TC4) substrate. Specifically, this technique produced a substrate with a hierarchically rough structured topography and introduced strontium ions into the film. The films were uniform and continuous with numerous crater-like micropores. Compared with the TC4 sample (196 ± 35 nm), the roughness of Ta (734 ± 51 nm) and Ta–Sr (728 ± 85 nm) films was significantly higher, and both films (Ta and Ta–Sr) showed increased hydrophilicity when compared with TC4, promoting cell attachment. Additionally, the in vitro experiments indicated that Ta and Ta–Sr films have the potential to enhance the recruitment of cells in the initial culture stages, and improve cell proliferation. Overall, this work demonstrated that the application of Ta and Ta–Sr films to orthopedic implants has the potential to increase the lifetime of the implants. Furthermore, this study also describes an innovative strategy to incorporate Ta into implant films.

Other metallic alloys: tantalum-based materials for biomedical applications

Abstract: Tantalum (Ta) is a refractory metal widely used in biomedicine as a bone substitute, mainly due to its suitable mechanical properties such as fatigue strength and corrosion resistance. Besides being biocompatible and well accepted by the body, Ta also has osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties. In addition, the structural design through the production of porous implants makes the material better adapted to the needs of bone tissue. In this chapter, we describe the properties of Ta-based materials, the relevance of using Ta porous structures for medical applications, and the existing manufacturing processes to produce them. An extensive review of the most important studies related to surface modification has been done, including Ta as a coating or as a substrate. As the Trabecular Metal technology has been widely used in the Ta implantology, an extensive description of the most relevant clinical studies with such porous Ta is included.

Recent Advance of Strontium Functionalized in Biomaterials for Bone Regeneration

Abstract: Bone defect disease causes damage to people’s lives and property, and how to effectively promote bone regeneration is still a big clinical challenge. Most of the current repair methods focus on filling the defects, which has a poor effect on bone regeneration. Therefore, how to effectively promote bone regeneration while repairing the defects at the same time has become a challenge for clinicians and researchers. Strontium (Sr) is a trace element required by the human body, which mainly exists in human bones. Due to its unique dual properties of promoting the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts and inhibiting osteoclast activity, it has attracted extensive research on bone defect repair in recent years. With the deep development of research, the mechanisms of Sr in the process of bone regeneration in the human body have been clarified, and the effects of Sr on osteoblasts, osteoclasts, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and the inflammatory microenvironment in the process of bone regeneration have been widely recognized. Based on the development of technology such as bioengineering, it is possible that Sr can be better loaded onto biomaterials. Even though the clinical application of Sr is currently limited and relevant clinical research still needs to be developed, Sr-composited bone tissue engineering biomaterials have achieved satisfactory results in vitro and in vivo studies. The Sr compound together with biomaterials to promote bone regeneration will be a development direction in the future. This review will present a brief overview of the relevant mechanisms of Sr in the process of bone regeneration and the related latest studies of Sr combined with biomaterials. The aim of this paper is to highlight the potential prospects of Sr functionalized in biomaterials.