Investigation of Supersonic Shock Wave Loading on Thin Metallic Sheets

Shock tube experiments were carried out to investigate dynamic behavior of Ultra-high hardness(UHH)steel and Aluminium(Al) sheets of 0.8 mm thickness at 0.55, 0.9 and 1.18 MPa peak-over pressure.Experimental results showed that center point deflection increases with an increase in peak-over pressure for Al sheets. However, UHH steel sheets showed negligible deformation when loaded at low peak-over pressures and showed sudden brittle failure at high peak-over pressures. Similar results were obtained by quasi-static testing, UHH steel failed abruptly while Al showed ductile behavior. Results from literature indicate that to protect structures against shock loading it is necessary that they dissipate energy via plastic deformation. The Al sheets were shown to deform plastically both in quasi-static and shock loading. Thus, hardness along with ductility is required to dissipate supersonic shock waves.

Production and characterisation of new bioresorbable radiopaque Mg–Zn–Y alloy to improve X-ray visibility of polymeric scaffolds

For the medical diagnosis,radiopaque materials(RM)made from high specific gravity elements like Pt,Au,Ta,Iodine,Bromine are either attached or blended or coated on an implant to makes it detectable under X-ray/Fluoroscopy/CT-Scan.RM facilitate the surgeon in an operation theatre to position an implant during the surgery.Mainly,RM are non-degradable,thus in case of biodegradable implants,it may detach from the body and accumulate in vital organ cause serious health issue.Therefore,a new bioresorbable radiopaque material(BRM)was produced by alloying the high specific gravity elements Zn(35%w/w)and Y(4%w/w)with Mg metal.In this alloy,three main phases were identified,alpha Mg,Mg_(7)Zn_(3)and icosahedral quasicrystalline I-phase Mg3Zn6Y,which reinforce the Mg matrix.Hereafter,BRM was powdered to a size of less than 25 microns and blended in different ratios with bioresorbable poly-L-lactic acid(PLLA)for fabricating PLLA/BRM bio-composite.BRM microparticles were uniformly distributed and interfacial bonded with the matrix.The X-ray was passed through bio-composite to captureμCT radiograph for evaluating linear attenuation co-efficient(μ)and optical density(OD).Thermal analysis reveals that BRM particles act as a nucleating site and enhance the crystallinity of the polymeric chain.During the In Vitro accelerated degradation study,the alkaline nature of BRM neutralise the acidity of PLLA and balance the pH of the body fluid to reduce the inflammatory reactions,but this compromises the stability of the polymer as it increases the decomposition rate.

Enhanced osseointegration of drug eluting nanotubular dental implants: An in vitro and in vivo study

Faster and predictable osseointegration is crucial for the success of dental implants, especially in patients with compromised local or systemic conditions. Despite various surface modifications on the commercially available Titanium (Ti) dental implants, the bioactivity of Ti is still low. Thus, to achieve both biological and therapeutic activity on titanium surfaces, surface modification techniques such as titanium nanotubes have been studied as nanotube surfaces can hold therapeutic drugs and molecules. The main aim of the present research work is to study the early osseointegration around the novel Simvastatin drug eluting nanotubular dental implant. In the present research, the titanium nanotubes were fabricated on the screw-shaped dental implant surface and the Simvastatin drug was loaded into the nanotubes using the ultrasonication dip method. In vitro and In vivo studies were carried out on the modified dental implants. In vitro cell culture study reported enhanced osteogenic activity on the drug-loaded nanotube surface implants. The in vivo animal studies were evaluated by micro-CT, histopathology, and reverse torque removal analysis methods. The test results showed faster osseointegration with the strong interface on the Simvastatin drug-loaded implant surface at 4 weeks of healing as compared to the control implants.