Tokyo Institute of Technology · Engineering
Professor Equo Kobayashi's research lab specializes in the development of advanced biomaterials for orthopedic and biomedical implant applications. The lab focuses on enhancing the mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, and bioactivity of metallic and ceramic-based materials such as titanium-zirconium alloys, magnesium matrix composites, and hydroxyapatite-coated systems. Key research directions include surface modification techniques (e.g., vacuum vapor deposition, spark plasma sintering), in-situ composite formation, and the evaluation of material behavior in physiological environments using immersion and electrochemical testing. The lab also investigates the role of microstructure and grain refinement in improving performance for biodegradable and non-biodegradable implant materials.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Mechanical properties of titanium-zirconium binary alloys were investigated in order to reveal their possible use for new biomedical materials and to collect useful data for alloy design through a hardness test, a tensile test, and optical microscopy. The hardness of the alloy containing 50% zirconium was approximately 2.5 times as large as the hardness of pure titanium and pure zirconium. Tensile tests showed a similar tendency. No changes between hardness of as cast specimens and as homogenize
In order to control of the calcium phosphate precipitation of Ti in body fluid, which might result in assimilated bone re-facture during removal operation of implanted devices such as femoral nails and bone screws after healing, vacuum vapor deposition of Zr on Ti Substrate was carried out. The calcium phosphate precipitation was evaluated through the immersion test into the Hanks’ solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were conducted to evaluate
Recent studies indicate that biodegradable magnesium alloys and composites are attracting a great deal of attention in orthopedic applications. In this study, magnesium–hydroxyapatite (Mg–HAP) composites with different compositions and grain size were fabricated by a spark plasma sintering (SPS) method. Their mechanical properties and corrosion behavior in a pseudo-physiological environment were investigated by pH measurements and inductivity coupled plasma (ICP) elemental analysis after an imme
The improvement in oxidation resistance of an intermetallic compound TiAl was investigated by means of a new type of surface treatment: heat treatment under a low partial pressure oxygen atmosphere. The specimens treated by this method showed superior oxidation resistance compared with a nickel-base superalloy Inconel 713C during cyclic heating to a temperature of 1173 K in static air. The best conditions for the heat treatment under a low partial pressure oxygen atmosphere were found to be: pre
Mg matrix in situ composites were fabricated from Mg and ZnO powder by a spark plasma sintering method. The composition and microstructure of the sintered samples were characterized. Corrosion properties of fabricated composites were evaluated by immersion and by electrochemical tests using Hanks’ solution. The results showed that the formation of in situ products improved significantly the corrosion resistance of the fabricated composites compared with pure Mg; Mg-10 wt % ZnO composites especia
In this study, hydroxyapatite (HAp) coated Mg matrix composites were fabricated for biodegradable implant applications. Spark plasma sintering was employed to fabricate the Mg-10 wt% ZnO composite substrates. HAp was coated on the surface of the sintered composites and pure Mg by a chemical solution treatment. SEM and optical micrographs of coated samples showed that HAp grew homogeneously and formed a layer on the entire surface of both pure sintered Mg and Mg composites. The immersion and pola
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