VEL TECH RANGARAJAN DR.

SAGUNTHALA R&D INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

AND TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

BIOMATERIALS ENGINEERING
(1154BT101)

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• Alloying with the addition of chromium results in corrosion-resistant steel by forming a
strongly adherent chromic oxide film (~2 nm thick) on the alloy surface. In the presence of
oxygen, this oxide film forms and heals itself.

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• The alloy contains a small percentage of molybdenum (2–4%) to improve the resistance
to pitting corrosion and is popularly known as 316L stainless steel.

• The three- digit designation corresponds to the American Iron and Steel Institute
(AISI) numbering system for stainless steels and the 300 series are austenitic (face-
centered cubic crystal structure), whereas the 400 series are either ferritic (body-centered
cubic structure) or martensitic (body-centered tetragonal structure) stainless steels. The
letter “L” indicates very low carbon content of 0.03% than 0.08% in 316 and the reason
for the low carbon content is to improve corrosion resistance.

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• Stainless steel is one of the most frequently used biomaterials for internal fixation
device because of a favorable combination of mechanical properties, corrosion
resistance, cost effectiveness and easily making a manufacturing.
• However, Stainless steel is not used as cementless arthroplasty implants due to their low
biocompatibility because the stable oxide layer cannot be formed on the surface of
stainless steel.

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 COBALT- CHROMIUM ALLOY
• Cobalt is a brittle, hard, silver-grey transition metal with magnetic properties similar to those
of iron (it is ferromagnetic). It has a high melting point and is hard-wearing even at high
temperatures. Its alloys also possess useful properties and so it finds use in high speed steels
and cutting tools for instance.
• As cobalt is widely dispersed in the environment humans may be exposed to it by breathing
air, drinking water and eating food that contains cobalt.
• Cobalt is beneficial for humans because it is a part of vitamin B12, which is essential for
human health.

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• Cobalt-chromium alloys are hard, tough, corrosion resistant, and biocompatible metals and
they are not only utilized in a diversity of joint replacement implants, but also in some
fracture restore implants, that will apply for a long period of time. Adding various metals
like molybdenum increases the strength of this alloy.

• CoCr Alloys Two types of CoCr alloys

• A) castable CoCrMo---- ASTM F75

• B) forgeable CoNiCrMo---- ASTM F90 and F562

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Especially castable CoCrMo alloy has been used in dentistry for the last 20 years and recently in artificial
joints. The forged CoNiCrMo alloy is quite new and is now being used to fabricate the bodies of prostheses
for severely loaded joints, such as knees and buttocks. Cast CoCrMo, forged CoCrWNi, and forged CoNiCrMo
alloys are mentioned in ASTM documents for surgical implant use.

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• Cobalt forms a solid solution with chromium up to 35% Cr addition (alloy crystal structure remains the
same as Co), which enhances the corrosion resistance of the Co-Cr alloy by an order of magnitude greater
than that of stainless steels. Molybdenum is also added to produce finer grains for higher strengths.

• The ASTM list four types of CoCr alloys which are recommended for surgical implant application:

cast CoCrMo alloy (F75)

Wrought CoCrWNi alloy (F90)

Wrought CoNiCrMo alloy (F562)

Wrought CONiCrMoWFe alloy (F563)

• At present only two are used extensively in implant fabrication, which are cast CoCrMo alloy and wrought
CoNiCrMo alloy
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 Titanium

Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22.
It is a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength. Titanium
is resistant to corrosion in sea water, aqua regia, and chlorine.
The relatively high melting point (more than 1,650 °C or 3,000 °F)
Commercially pure (99.2% pure) grades of titanium have ultimate tensile strength of about
434 Mpa
Because titanium is biocompatible (non-toxic and not rejected by the body), it has many
medical uses, including surgical implements and implants, such as hip balls and sockets
(joint replacement) and dental implants that can stay in place for up to 20 years.
When compared to steel in a strength-to-weight ratio, titanium is far superior, as it is as
strong as steel but 45% lighter.
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Titanium alloys
• Titanium is a light metal.
• Density = 4.505 g/cm3 at 26oC

Alloys Density (g/cm3)

Ti and its alloys 4.5

316 stainless steel 7.9
CoCrMo 8.3
CoNiCrMo 9.2
NiTi 6.7

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 Titanium and Titanium-based Alloys
• Titanium alloys are now the most attractive metallic materials for biomedical
applications. In medicine, they are used for implant devices replacing failed hard tissue.
• Examples include artificial hip joints, artificial knee joints, bone plates, screws for
fracture fixation, cardiac valve prostheses, pacemakers, and artificial hearts.
• Ti-6Al-4V has long been a main medical titanium alloy.
• However, for permanent implant applications the alloy has a possible toxic effect
resulting from released vanadium and aluminum.
• For this reason, vanadium- and aluminum-free alloys have been introduced for implant
applications, based on the Ti-6Al-4V implants.
These new alloys include
Ti-6Al-7Nb (ASTM F1295),
Ti-13Nb-13Zr (ASTM F1713),
and Ti-12Mo-6Zr (ASTM F1813).
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 Property of Titanium
• Low specific gravity (lightness), good corrosion resistance, and excellent biocompatibility are
the outstanding features of titanium for implant applications.
• The formation of a stable, thin, coherent titanium oxide (TiO2) on the surface of the titanium
and its alloys provides superior corrosion resistance compared with stainless steel and Co-Cr
alloys.
• The oxidized film, if scratched or damaged, is capable of rehealing and restoring itself in the
body under physiological conditions and is also believed to be responsible for osseointegration
of titanium implants in vivo.

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Titanium alloys
• Advantages:
• Resistance to corrosion by the formation of solid oxide layer to a depth of 10nm.
• Under in vivo conditions the oxide (TiO2) is the only stable reaction product.
• Limitation:
• Has poor shear strength → less desirable for bone fixation devices e.g. bone screw and
plates.
• Tends to gall when in sliding contact with itself or another metal.

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 Titanium alloys
• Biomedical application:

• Artificial heart valves,

• dental implants,
• artificial joint components,
• orthopedic screws (less desirable),
• pacemaker cases,
• vascular stents

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