Novel Titanium Manganese Alloys and Their Macroporous Foams for Biomedical Applications Prepared by Field Assisted Sintering

Abstract

In this chapter, a novel titanium (Ti) alloy and foam suitable for biomedical applications will be introduced. As we know, Ti and its alloys are widely used as biomaterials especially for orthopedic implants in load bearing sites as dental and orthopedic implants and heart valves, due to their high mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility.Pure Ti was once used as biomaterial, but its disadvantage as implant materials is low strength and insufficient hardness. Therefore, the Ti6Al4V alloy is preferentially in clinical use because of its favourable mechanical properties. However, some studies showed that the vanadium (V) and aluminium (Al) release in Ti6Al4V alloy could induce Alzheimer's disease, allergic reaction and neurological disorders. Therefore, the exploration of high strength new Ti alloys without Al and V for medical implants has gained great attention in the past years and it is still ongoing.