Evaluating the bio-functionalities of Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy after surface modification using electrical discharge machining

The present work evaluates the influence of surface modification on the bio-functionalities of Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy in terms of apatite formation, metal ion release rate and anti-bacterial activities. The surface modification in the form of change in surface integrity, and increases in the exposed surface area, has been achieved using wire-electrical discharge machining (WEDM) and electrical discharge mu-drilling(EDD). Due to high discharge energies, molten material will deposit on the parent material (recast layer), which increases the surface roughness (parent surface 0.5 mu m to 2.34 mu m) and hardness (patent material 304VH to 385VH) after subsequent re-solidification and quenching. Surface roughness and hardness near the micro-drilled hole are observed to increase. After surface modification, the apatite formation is increased on Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy with increasing immersion time and the ion released rate was found lowest on the WEDMed surface as compared to micro drilled and polished surface. Field-emission electron scanning microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) observations confirmed the presence of phosphate and calcium ions on the WEDMed surface and nearby the micro-drilled surface. The variation in colour of the simulated body fluid (SBF) after the immersion of WEDMed, EDD, and polished samples indicates the variable effecton pH levels of the SBF solution for three types of samples.The anti-bacterial bioactivity of Ti-6Al-7Nb was found to be better on the WEDMed surface as compared to polished surfaces, which is due to the formation of a rutile-TiO2 layer on WEDMed surface.