Novel antibacterial and biocompatible Ta-Ag composite deposits fabricated by cold spray technology
Description
Cold spray (CS) is a solid-state deposition technology in which deposition is achieved by the severe deformation caused by the ultra-high speed impact of feeding particles. During the severe the deformation, feeding particles are bonded via atomic diffusion and mechanical interlock. Due to its special deposition and bonding mechanisms, a variety of metal matrix composites can be rapidly fabricated by using cold spray technology. In the family of metallic material, Tantalum and Silver have excellent biocompatibility and antibacterial ability respectively. However, owing to their significant difference in mechanical and physical properties, it is difficult to fabricate Ta-Ag composite deposits rapidly and flexibly by using other processing technology.
Taking the advantage of cold spray, in this research, Ta-Ag composite deposits are produced by using our home-designed cold spray system. The deposition behaviour in the cold spraying blended Ta-Ag powder was investigated. Then, the antibacterial ability and biocompatibility were evaluated. Finally, various characterization techniques were applied to reveal the antibacterial mechanism of CS Ta-Ag coatings and evaluate their properties, for example corrosion and wear resistance. We hope the CSed Ta-Ag composite can become a valuable option for solving the infection problem. And our research findings could help the relative researchers and manufactures to develop more advance metal-matrix composite applied in biomedical industry.
