An overview about biomedical applications of micron and nano size tantalum.
Tantalum is obtained from the minerals colombite, tantalite and euxenite. It is greyish silver, heavy and very hard. Tantalum does not react with body fluids and is used to make surgical equipment. Tantalum also does not irritate the body and is used to make surgical sutures as well as implants, such as artificial joints and cranial plates. Bone growth around tantalum covered by calcium phosphate is described by in vitro experimentations. in vivo. Bioactive properties of porous tantalum have been recently developed. Porous tantalum consists of an interconnected porous structure with an average porosity diameter of approximately 400 microm. Hollow spheres with nanometre-to-micrometer dimensions are widely used in different range of applications such as drug delivery carriers and bioreactors. Porous tantalum metal is currently used in orthopaedic for manufacturing of structural component for primary and revision total hip and knee replacements and, more recently, in spine surgery. Good clinical outcomes have been achieved especially in hip revision surgery, using tantalum implants, and promising short term follow up have been reported for knee revision surgery. Some patents for tantalum biomedical applications have been obtained and this article reviews various recent patents on this material. Many patents are developed on tantalum for biomedical application. This paper review some of them with particular interested for biomedical applications in orthopaedic and dentistry.
Maccauro
Giulio
G
Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
Iommetti
Pierfrancesco Rossi
PR
Muratori
Francesco
F
Raffaelli
Luca
L
Manicone
Paolo Francesco
PF
Fabbriciani
Carlo
C
D000818:Animals; D035843:Biomedical Research; D015921:Dental Implants; D006801:Humans; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures; D010330:Patents as Topic; D013635:Tantalum / Q000737:chemistry*
D015921:Dental Implants; D013635:Tantalum