BiLaTeXene

Ageing of the society is nowadays beyond controversy. The world faces several societal challenges and health issues become more and more predominant with the accelerating demographic transition. One of the immediately visible effects of ageing on our society is the reported increase in for example orthopaedic implants currently boosting to a huge economical market. Implants are designed to last as long as possible, but reality shows that implants are far beyond being perfect as the daily use and thus loading, friction and wear may cause wear particles and inflammatory events potentially leading to a subsequent failure of the entire implant therefore requiring secondary revisions or removal surgeries. For a successful integration of any implant, bone regeneration, osseointegration at the interface bone and implant as well as mitigating inflammatory events are crucial aspects. The aim of this project is the development of a new biocompatible Titanium/Hydroxyapatite composite material to increase the biocompatibility and therefore the longevity of surgical implants. Hydroxyapatite as a mineral is of course not new but one of the main constituents of human bone and dental enamel in a slightly modified way. However, the mechanical properties are strongly influenced by the microstructure of this mineral which in turn is a result of the processing route. Within this project, the processing of the system Titanium/Hydroxyapatite offers completely new possibilities for implant materials. One decisive point is however that hydroxyapatite is brittle and that the friction and wear properties especially in combination with Titanium are not sufficient for a long lifetime of components. Because of that, the project goes beyond the state of the art and aims at a combination with a laser surface treatment and a new two- dimensional, easy shearing material called MXene. There are several advantages now of using laser radiation as the laser is able to create well-defined and long-range ordered tiny pockets in the materials surface thus further opening the underlying porosity of the Titanium/Hydroxyapatite composite and additionally improving the cell transport and cell growth in the laser treated area. Moreover, the laser pockets can serve as small storage sites for lubricants to reduce friction between the involved surfaces and wear. The lubricant of interest in this particular research, MXenes, have a two-dimensional structure like a stack of loosely bound papers that can be shifted to each other in an easy way. These materials typically also consist of Titanium again and carbon for example and have proven superior properties for many technical applications already. This unique scientific approach should result in high-quality and durable implant materials thus reducing the number of removal surgeries in the future.