New metallic materials for biodegradable implant applications
Event details
| Date | 10.03.2014 |
| Speaker |
Jörg Löffler, ETHZ, Zürich |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Biomedical implants used in osteosynthesis and vascular intervention are usually made of metallic materials. They are designed to have high corrosion resistance in order to remain permanently in the body, as e.g. metallic stents in vascular intervention; or they must be removed in a second surgery, as e.g. metallic screws and plates in broken bone fixation. Permanent implants often generate problems such as prolonged physical irritation and chronic inflammation, and can only be applied in pediatric surgery to a limited extent because they do not grow with the patient. To overcome the limitations of permanent devices we have developed new classes of biodegradable metallic alloys which degrade in the body after performing their task. I will describe our efforts in the development of amorphous and crystalline Mg-‐alloys, based on metal physical design rules, and present their mechanical properties, in-‐vitro and in-‐vivo degradation performance, and biological response [1-‐3]. MgZnCa alloys in particular are suitable for use as biodegradable implants because they have suitable mechanical properties, are biocompatible, show good osteoconductivity and osteoinductivity, and exhibit adjustable degradation rates.
References:
[1] B. Zberg, P. J. Uggowitzer, J. F. Löffler, ‘MgZnCa glasses without clinically observable hydrogen evolution for
biodegradable implants’, Nature Mater. 8 (2009) 887 – 891.
[2] T. Kraus, S. F. Fischerauer, A. C. Hänzi, P. J. Uggowitzer, J. F. Löffler, A. M. Weinberg, ‘Magnesium alloys for
temporary implants in osteosynthesis: In-‐vivo studies of their degradation and interaction with bone’, Acta
Biomater. 8 (2012) 1230 – 1238.
[3] J. Hofstetter, M. Becker, E. Martinelli, A. M. Weinberg, B. Mingler, H. Kilian, S. Pogatscher, P. J. Uggowitzer,
J. F. Löffler, ‘High-‐strength low-‐alloy (HSLA) Mg–Zn–Ca alloys with excellent biodegradation performance’, J. of Metals (JOM) (2014), DOI: 10.1007/s11837-‐014-‐0875-‐5.
Bio : Jörg F. Löffler has been Professor at the Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, since July 2003. Starting as Assistant Professor, in 2007 he was elected Full Professor of Metal Physics and Technology. From 2010 – 2013 he was Chairman of the Department of Materials.
Born in Germany in 1969, Jörg Löffler studied Physics and Materials Science at Saarland University, Germany. Following diploma thesis work at the Institute of New Materials in Saarbrucken with Prof. Herbert Gleiter (1994), he transferred to the Paul Scherrer Institute and ETH Zurich, where he earned his doctorate in the magnetism of nanostructured materials and neutron scattering (1997). After a short stay as a postdoctoral researcher at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Löffler took up a post at the California Institute of Technology as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, where he worked with Prof. William L. Johnson in the area of bulk metallic glasses. In 2001 he was appointed tenure-track Assistant Professor at the University of California, Davis, where he stayed until his appointment to ETH Zurich in 2003. Since November 2007 Jörg Löffler has been Full Professor of Metal Physics and Technology.
The principal areas of Jörg Löffler’s research are the synthesis and characterization of novel nanostructured and amorphous materials; magnetic, optical, and mechanical properties on the nanoscale; the use of metals for medical applications (in particular bioresorbable implants); and neutron scattering and synchrotron radiation. His work has received distinctions at several international conferences. Other awards include the ETH Zurich Medal for the excellence of his Ph.D. dissertation and the Masing Memorial Award for his contributions to materials science. Jörg Löffler was a member of the German National Merit Foundation from 1991 to 1997, holds a Visiting Faculty position at the California Institute of Technology, and is Adjunct Professor at the World Premier Institute (WPI) of Tohoku University in Sendai. He is a member of the editorial boards of Intermetallics, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and the open-access journal Results in Physics. He is also member of the Science Advisory Council of the European Spallation Neutron Source.
References:
[1] B. Zberg, P. J. Uggowitzer, J. F. Löffler, ‘MgZnCa glasses without clinically observable hydrogen evolution for
biodegradable implants’, Nature Mater. 8 (2009) 887 – 891.
[2] T. Kraus, S. F. Fischerauer, A. C. Hänzi, P. J. Uggowitzer, J. F. Löffler, A. M. Weinberg, ‘Magnesium alloys for
temporary implants in osteosynthesis: In-‐vivo studies of their degradation and interaction with bone’, Acta
Biomater. 8 (2012) 1230 – 1238.
[3] J. Hofstetter, M. Becker, E. Martinelli, A. M. Weinberg, B. Mingler, H. Kilian, S. Pogatscher, P. J. Uggowitzer,
J. F. Löffler, ‘High-‐strength low-‐alloy (HSLA) Mg–Zn–Ca alloys with excellent biodegradation performance’, J. of Metals (JOM) (2014), DOI: 10.1007/s11837-‐014-‐0875-‐5.
Bio : Jörg F. Löffler has been Professor at the Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, since July 2003. Starting as Assistant Professor, in 2007 he was elected Full Professor of Metal Physics and Technology. From 2010 – 2013 he was Chairman of the Department of Materials.
Born in Germany in 1969, Jörg Löffler studied Physics and Materials Science at Saarland University, Germany. Following diploma thesis work at the Institute of New Materials in Saarbrucken with Prof. Herbert Gleiter (1994), he transferred to the Paul Scherrer Institute and ETH Zurich, where he earned his doctorate in the magnetism of nanostructured materials and neutron scattering (1997). After a short stay as a postdoctoral researcher at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Löffler took up a post at the California Institute of Technology as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, where he worked with Prof. William L. Johnson in the area of bulk metallic glasses. In 2001 he was appointed tenure-track Assistant Professor at the University of California, Davis, where he stayed until his appointment to ETH Zurich in 2003. Since November 2007 Jörg Löffler has been Full Professor of Metal Physics and Technology.
The principal areas of Jörg Löffler’s research are the synthesis and characterization of novel nanostructured and amorphous materials; magnetic, optical, and mechanical properties on the nanoscale; the use of metals for medical applications (in particular bioresorbable implants); and neutron scattering and synchrotron radiation. His work has received distinctions at several international conferences. Other awards include the ETH Zurich Medal for the excellence of his Ph.D. dissertation and the Masing Memorial Award for his contributions to materials science. Jörg Löffler was a member of the German National Merit Foundation from 1991 to 1997, holds a Visiting Faculty position at the California Institute of Technology, and is Adjunct Professor at the World Premier Institute (WPI) of Tohoku University in Sendai. He is a member of the editorial boards of Intermetallics, Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and the open-access journal Results in Physics. He is also member of the Science Advisory Council of the European Spallation Neutron Source.
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- IMX Seminar Series