Development of non-toxic low-cost bioactive porous Ti–Fe–Si bulk metallic glass with bone-like mechanical properties for orthopedic implants

The clinical value of large-sized Ti-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) used in orthopedic implants has greatly diminished because of the internal toxic/precious elements and the aseptic loosening caused by not only the "stress shielding" effect, but also the biological inertia of the alloy surface. Here, a toxic elements-free low-cost Ti–Fe–Si porous BMG with bone-like compressive strength (130 MPa) and Young's modulus (37 GPa) was fabricated by mechanical alloying (MA) and bonded with spark plasma sintering (SPS). By altering the loading pressure during the SPS process, the porosity and mechanical properties of the Ti–Fe–Si BMG can be effectively regulated to meet the requirements of the load-bearing cortical bone. Moreover, in vitro biological experiments revealed that the Ti–Fe–Si BMG possesses favorable bioactivity to induce the apatite and excellent biocompatibility for cell proliferation, similar to that of commercial pure Ti (cp-Ti). State-of-art Ti–Fe–Si porous BMG with global bone-like properties can be expected to be an important biomaterial for clinical orthopedic use.