

Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council - Corrosion-resistant coatings for medical applications

DCN Corp® - Corrosion-raesistant coatings for medical applications. Credit - Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council (INIC)Iranian researchers have applied a protective layer to increase the resistance of stainless steel against corrosion in corrosive media such as the human body

The Iranian research results have potential application in medical industries, especially in material implants.

Metals are the oldest materials, which have been employed in medical industries and/or surgeries. The problem with such materials is their negative effects of released metallic ions, due to corrosion on biological processes in human bodies.  The researchers extensively studied the corrosive behaviour of stainless steel after being coated with a thin film of Zirconia to prevent the negative effects of the released metallic ions caused by corrosion on the biological processes in human bodies.

The researchers employed body simulating liquid, Zirconia oxide and Zirconia - poly (methyl methacrylate) hybrid coatings to measure the level of corrosion.  Thereafter based on adhesion results, it was found that pure oxide coatings had better adhesion when compared to the hybrid ones.  However, malfunction density and porosity are found less in hybrid coatings when compared to the oxide ones, based on reported corrosion tests.

Plus, other experiments demonstrated that homogeneous and local resistance to corrosion increases as the number of the layers increases and the film becomes thicker.  Essentially an anti-corrosion mechanism is created to provide a physical block in front of the electrolyte.  Once the thickness increases, the diffusivity into the physical block decreases and the availability of the substrate would be extremely difficult. Original article available here

Please Note the research results were published in Ceramics International in a paper entitled: Corrosion protection by Zirconia-based thin films deposited by a Sol-Gel spin coating method. [1]

Interestingly the Iranian study, above, demonstrates the potential of nano-coatings on to metallic base substrates - stainless steel.  As stated previously, DCN Corp strongly believes it can compete.  Going forward, if you and/or your colleagues are interested in making DCN Corp's alternative process reality - please ensure to contact the company as soon as practicably possible.

[1] Norouzi, M. and Garekani, A. A. Corrosion protection by Zirconia-based thin films deposited by a Sol-Gel spin coating method. Ceramics International 40, 2, 2857-2861 (2014)