Hierarchical Microstructure Tailoring of Pure Titanium for Enhancing Cellular Response at Tissue-Implant Interface

Abstract

The main goal of this research is to scrutinize the effect of texture and grain size on the biological response of hierarchical structured pure titanium (Ti), examining the interrelation between grain refinement mechanisms with texture variation. The hierarchical structure was produced using two methods of severe plastic deformation (SPD). The Ti specimens were first processed up to six passes by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) and subsequently treated at the top surface using surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT). Microstructure examination by Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) indicates that the SMAT-treated surface was categorized into three distinct microstructural regions based on the type of grain refinement process involved during SPD: twin induced dynamic recrystallization (TDRX) and geometric dynamic recrystallization (GDRX) in the topmost surface, and continuous (CDRX) and discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX) in the lower regions of the sample. The biological experiments showed meaningful improvement in the cellular response of SMATed and ECAPed samples. It was demonstrated that grain refinement could have the capability of improving the biological response of Ti surface. In this regard, SMATed + 2ECAPed sample showed the best result although it has not the smallest grain size and the highest texture intensity. It was observed that texture and grain orientation of planes have an important impact on the biological response of pure Ti and dominance of prismatic (1010) texture can improve the cell viability, adhesion and its differentiation. Therefore, microstructure and texture tailoring through combined SPD methods could be a promising strategy for the improvement of the next generation of medical implants.