Introduction of antibacterial function into biomedical TiNi shape memory alloy by the addition of element Ag

摘要

TiNiAg ternary alloy was successfully fabricated with arc-melting method with water cooling Cu bath. The Ag particles precipitate within the TiNi alloy matrix, with the size ranging from several tens of nanometers to several micrometers. The tensile tests show-that TiNiAg alloy has higher strength than that of TiNi binary alloy. Compared with TiNi alloy. TiNiAg alloy possesses similar corrosion resistance and cyto-biocompatibility. Moreover. TiNiAg alloy exhibits reduced bacteria adhesion when compared with TiNi binary alloy. The antibacterial effect is attributed to the release of Ag ions from the tiny Ag precipitates. Therefore TiNiAg alloy is believed to be a functional biomaterial which combines antibacterial activity and shape memory effect, and is likely to broaden the range of the biomedical application of TiNi alloy system.