Title
Induction heating for the removal of liquid metal-based implant mimics: A proof-of-concept
Date Issued
01 June 2022
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Abbasi R.
Tang J.
Baharfar M.
Zhang C.
Allioux F.M.
Zhang J.
Tajik M.
Yang J.
Biazik J.
Han J.
Mofarah S.S.
Esrafilzadeh D.
Koshy P.
Sorrell C.C.
Chan S.L.I.
Rahim M.A.
Kalantar-Zadeh K.
University of New South Wales
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
Eutectic alloys have long been investigated for their unique properties such as single point melting temperature, homogenous structures, and uniform distribution of phases. In this work, we synthesized and characterized two low melting temperature liquid metal alloys. Eutectic alloys of indium-tin-bismuth (Field's metal) and Field's metal-like alloy with traces of zinc (0.4 wt%) were studied through a series of structural, thermal, microstructural, and mechanical tests. The in vitro biocompatibility of the alloys was assessed to investigate their potential application as bioimplants. These low melting point alloys (∼62 °C and ∼60 °C for Field's metal and the alloy with zinc, respectively) were utilized to address one of the major issues faced by the conventional use of bioimplants, which is the invasive surgery. We provide a proof-of-concept utilizing the combination of induction heating with the Field's metal-based alloys with suitable melting points. The approach enabled a contactless melting and extraction for the non-invasive removal of the bioimplant mimic from a polymer matrix, that can be potentially translated to the human body. We believe that this approach will provide fundamental insights for future biomedical applications and the design of liquid metal based non-invasive implants.
Volume
27
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ingeniería médica Biotecnología relacionada con la salud
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85127232653
Source
Applied Materials Today
ISSN of the container
23529407
Sponsor(s)
The authors would like to acknowledge the Australian Research Council (ARC) Laureate Fellowship grant (FL180100053) for the financial coverage of this study. R. Abbasi thanks UNSW for the University International Postgraduate Award (UIPA) scholarship. Authors would like to acknowledge the technical assistance of the Mark Wainwright Analytical Center (Cell Culture Facility) at UNSW.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus