Unique Low-Cost Ultrananocrystalline Diamond (UNCD™) Coating, enables New Generations of Industrial Products, High-Tech Devices, Medical Devices, and Prostheses
This article provides a summary of materials science, materials integration strategies, materials properties, and design and development of new generations of industrial products, high-tech devices, and external/ implantable medical devices/ prostheses, and treatment of medical conditions, based on the unique low-cost/bets biocompatible (because made of Carbon atoms- element of life in the human DNA, cells, and molecules) Ultrananocrystalline Diamond (UNCD™) coating, co-developed and patented by Auciello and colleagues, to improve the quality of life of people worldwide.
The target audience for this article includes undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs, scientists and engineers in Academia and Industry in different fields of science and technology, including materials scientists, mechanical engineers, bioengineers, applied physicists/ chemists, medical device designers/ manufacturers, and medical doctors/ surgeons, who, by knowing more about biomaterials and devices they are implanting in people, may make better decisions when selecting a device based on the appropriate material for implantation.
This article also provides valuable information to manufacturers of medical devices and prostheses, about the new revolutionary UNCD™ coating that can be grown directly on current bare metal-based implantable devices and specifically prostheses (e.g., dental implants, hips, knees, and more), eliminating failure due to synergistic mechanical/chemical (due to body fluids)- induced degradation. The information on the science/technology of UNCD™ coatings, for medical devices/prostheses, is also valuable for doctors, surgeons, and the public, for them to know that a new transformational best biocompatible material named UNCD™, in coating form, can produce new generation of implantable medical devices, prostheses, and artificial cells grown and differentiated on the UNCD’s surface, the latter enabling new artificial biological treatments of degenerated human natural cells, such that UNCD™ -based bio-technologies provide revolutionary improvements in the way/quality of life of people worldwide.
Manufacturing Processes: MPCVD and HFCVD
UNCD™ films (coatings) developed/patented by Auciello et.al. (1990-present), currently investigated by scientists worldwide, are grown by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) and hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD). In both techniques, a patented mixture of Ar/CH4 gas is flown into an air-evacuated chamber. For the MPCVD process, the plasma cracks the CH4 molecules, and for the HFCVD process, a heated (~2300 ̊C) array of filaments cracks the CH4 molecules. In both processes, the cracking the CH4 molecules, produce C atoms, which landing on substrate surfaces of many materials, induce the C atoms to link to each other with a diamond-type C atoms bonds, producing the UNCD™ films (coatings) (3-5 nm grains-smallest of any polycrystalline diamond (PCD) coatings in the world today). Another transformational process relates to UNCD™ films (coatings) grown with Ar/ CH4/N2 gas chemistry, which produce the only/unique semi-metallic conductor N-UNCD films (coatings), via N atoms insertion into grain boundaries, providing electrons for electrical conductivity. Boron atoms replacing C atoms in UNCD diamond lattice, produce metallic B-UNCD films (costings) with electrical conductivity close to that of metals.
UNCD™ coated metal prostheses can provide a much longer and safer life span than metal ones
Properties of UNCD™ Films
UNCD™ films exhibit unique combined physical/chemical/mechanical/electrical/ biological properties: 1) Hardness (98 GPa)/Young modulus (1000 GPa), like diamond gem; 2) Lowest friction coefficient (≤ 0.04) than other materials (≥ 0.5) used in pump seals/bearings, prostheses; 3) chemical corrosion resistant to any fluids, including HF; 4) Best biocompatibility (because made of C-atoms-element of life in human DNA/ cells/molecules); 5) Super-hydrophilic/ super-hydrophobic UNCD™ surfaces are produced by O- and CF4-plasma processes, respectively.
Technological advancements and applications
Technologies already demonstrated and in advanced and less advanced state of development are described briefly and shown in the Figure below the text, providing a summary of products already in the world market and under development for insertion into the world market, as described below in order of state of development:
UNCD™-coated mechanical pump seals/bearings and Atomic Force Microscope tips, marketed worldwide since early 2000s by Advanced Diamond Technologies (ADT Inc.) (company founded by Auciello and colleagues, sold, in 2019, to large company (John Crane), now manufacturing products based on UNCD coatings).
UNCD™ films were demonstrated as hermetic/best biocompatible/ bioinert coating for encapsulation of Si microchip (“Artificial Retina”), implantable on human eye’s retina, to restore Partial Vision to people blinded by retinitis pigmentosa (10 years of R&D (2000-2010) by group of scientists, engineers, biologist, medical doctors, surgeons (four Universities, five National Laboratories, and a USA-Company (Second Sight)), resulted in the Argus II device (currently without the UNCD™-coated Si chip, because needs FDA approval), implanted in hundreds of blind people in the USA and Europe, returning partial vision.
New generation of Li-ion Batteries (LIB) with order of magnitude longer stable capacity energy life and safer than current LIBs. The new LIBs are based on unique electrically conductive Nitrogen atoms grain boundary incorporated N-UNCD coating on current commercial graphite/copper anodes/and alloy cathodes, eliminating Li-corrosion. N-UNCD-based LIBs are under advanced state of development for new generation Defibrillator/ Pacemaker/implantable battery powered medical devices, and cell phones and portable electronics.
- Unique water purification system with water-corrosion resistant electrically conductive Boron-doped UNCD-coated metal electrodes, producing electrolysis in the water, which induce formation of ozone (O3) molecules, which kill all viruses, bacteria, fungi, mold, protozoa, cysts, algae, yeasts, and pathogens, in about 5-10 minutes.
- UNCD™-coated new generation of implantable prostheses: 1) UNCD™-coated commercial metal dental implants (DIs) (50 patients implanted in Mexico (2018- present)), demonstrated that these prostheses are the new revolution, with UNCD coating eliminating chemical attack by oral fluids, wich destroy ~15% of current Ti-alloys DIs inserted in people’s mouth worldwide; 2) Other prostheses with UNCD coating under development include artificial metal hips, knees, elbows and many others joint in the human body.
- Novel integrated biocompatible super-paramagnetic oxide (Fe2O3-approved by FDA-USA) nanoparticles injectable in human’s eye, attracted by magnetic field, generated by external UNCD™-coated magnet, push detached retina back on inner wall of human’s eye, providing new transformational retina reattachment process, order of magnitude better/safer than current treatment, injecting gas or oil bubbles in the eye. Animal and initial clinical tests on humans, performed in Argentina through a collaboration of ophthalmologist surgeon Saravia, materials scientist/ physicist Auciello, and colleagues demonstrated the new treatment retina reattachment treatment.
- Super-hydrophobic UNCD™-coating on commercial hydrophilic polymer-based valves has been demonstrated to provide an order of magnitude better performance than current uncoated polymer valves to pump out fluid from the inner human’s eye with clogged trabecular tubes (glaucoma condition is the second cause of blindness worldwide).
- Novel UNCD™-based scaffolds provide an order of magnitude better surfaces for growing pluripotent stem cells and inducing electric-field-based differentiation into other human cells for developmental biology and biological treatment of human medical conditions via implantation of human cells developed in the laboratory.
- Integrated multifunctional piezoelectric oxides or nitrides/UNCD™ films on tailored substrates have been developed to produce new generation of unique Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) cantilevers, activated by the integrated piezoelectric oxides or nitrides layers, enabling new generations of biomedical MEMS Energy Generation, Drug Delivery and BioSensor Devices.
The Figure below shows a summary of new generations of industrial products, high-tech devices, and implantable medical devices and prostheses, based on the revolutionary UNCD™ film (coating).
