Medicine Project Abstract
BIOCOMPATIBILITY OF CARBON COATING PRODUCED BY THE CHLORINATION OF METAL CARBIDES
Presenter:
Catherine Mia Ihm, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 W. Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506; mamamia@imsa.edu
Mentor:
Michael McNallan, Professor of Materials Science, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607; 312-996-3430
Abstract:
When metal carbides are exposed to chlorine at high temperatures, a carbon coating is produced on the surface. Because of the low thermodynamic stability of CCl4 in comparison to metal chlorides at high temperature, the metal is selectively volatilized from the carbide as a chloride vapor, leaving carbon behind. The carbon structure formed has many beneficial properties, one being that it has a low friction coefficient and is very wear-resistant. This property can be useful for many biomedical applications, hip joint replacements in particular. Current artificial hips use materials that wear away, and the debris produced can cause inflammation and infection in that area of the body, perhaps even requiring another hip replacement. A more wear-resistant material would allow a person to utilize an artificial hip for much longer, making the carbon a desirable material to use. The biocompatibility of carbon coated SiC produced by this chlorination process was tested to see if this material is safe to put inside a human body.