Application of Nanoindentation Development of Biomedical to Materials

ISSN： 1743-2944

Source： Surface Engineering, Vol.19, Iss.4, 2003-08, pp. : 255-268

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Abstract

The use of nanoindentation techniques to characterise biomedical materials is reviewed. Nanoindentation, which allows measurement of material hardness and elastic properties at submicrometre depths, has found application in many areas and is increasingly being used to probe microstructural components of mammalian bone. This is in addition to more long standing work on indentation of orthopaedic coatings, dental restorative materials and even thin films of phase transforming (shape memory) alloys. The ability of the technique to test samples of limited dimensions is key for biomedical materials. One important emerging application relates to in vivo glucose sensor technology, where initial contact with blood and subcutaneous tissue results in mass protein deposition on the outer surface of the sensor. The molecular size range within which proteins are categorised makes nanoindentation attractive as a novel technique to probe surface protein films.