Effect of Nitinol Addition on the Mechanical properties and the Microstructure of Nactural Hydroxyapatite Obtained from Calf Femoral Bone

Hydroxyapatite have been studied intensively for bone repairing and replacement applications due to their biocompatibility, bioactivity and the ability to bond to bone. Despite the poor mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite, its unique biological properties leads to study improving its properties rather than completely replacing it with other biomaterials. One of the ways to improve the properties of hydroxyapatite as a bioceramic, is preparing composite based hydroxyapatite.
In this study, Nitinol was used as a reinforce phase in order to improve the mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite. Pure hydroxyapatite (HA) was obtained by the calcination of calf femoral bone.Then the hydroxyapatite composite reinforced with 5, 10 and 15 Wt% Nitinol was produced by powder metallurgy successfully. In order to examine changes occurring in the composite phase after sintering and fracture surface, XRD, FTIR and SEM were used, Respectively. Also, the compressive strength were measured to compare the bone properties.
The results showed that hydroxyapatite composite with 10% Nitinol has the sutable conditions. It also optimizes the mechanical properties compared to other compounds intended.