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Biomaterials Engineering (1154BT101)

This document discusses metallic biomaterials, including stainless steels, cobalt alloys, and titanium alloys. Stainless steels are alloys of iron with low carbon content and chromium, which forms an oxide layer providing corrosion resistance. 316L stainless steel contains molybdenum for improved pitting corrosion resistance. Stainless steel is commonly used for internal fixation devices due to mechanical properties and cost effectiveness but not for cementless implants due to lower biocompatibility from inability to form stable oxide layers.

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37 views

Biomaterials Engineering (1154BT101)

This document discusses metallic biomaterials, including stainless steels, cobalt alloys, and titanium alloys. Stainless steels are alloys of iron with low carbon content and chromium, which forms an oxide layer providing corrosion resistance. 316L stainless steel contains molybdenum for improved pitting corrosion resistance. Stainless steel is commonly used for internal fixation devices due to mechanical properties and cost effectiveness but not for cementless implants due to lower biocompatibility from inability to form stable oxide layers.

Uploaded by

ronaldo magar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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VEL TECH RANGARAJAN DR.

SAGUNTHALA R&D INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE


AND TECHNOLOGY
DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

BIOMATERIALS ENGINEERING
(1154BT101)
Metallic Biomaterials
Introduction
Metals account for about two thirds of all the elements in the periodic table and have free
electrons that distinguish them from nonmetals.

 Metals have very good strength, ductility, high melting points, thermal and electrical
conductivity, and toughness. These properties are due to metallic bonding, which can be
thought of as consisting of a three-dimensional array of positively charged ion cores
immersed in a cloud of free electrons.

 The delocalized electrons (free electrons) are responsible for their excellent electrical and
thermal properties.
The properties of a metal can be improved by alloying; an alloy is a mixture of a pure
metal with one or more other elements.
 For
example, brass is an alloy of copper and zinc metals, while steel consists of iron alloyed with
nonmetallic carbon.
 Alloyingcan result in three different metallic systems: solid solutions in which one metal in low
concentration (solute) substitutes the atomic position of the other (solvent); interstitial solid solution in
which a smaller atom, like carbon, fits between the spaces of the existing atom; and intermetallic
compound in which a new compound is formed with a new atomic arrangement.
Metalsand alloys are most widely used as biomaterials due to their excellent
mechanical properties.
Most of the metallic biomaterials are used as passive substitutes exclusively for
load-bearing implants, such as total hip and knee prostheses, fracture healing
aids as bone plates, pins and screws, and plates, spinal fixation wires, and dental
implants. Some metals are used for more active roles in medical devices, as
parts of artificial
Heart valves, vascular stents, pacemaker leads, catheter guide wires, and
cochlear implants
• In addition, the good electrical conductivity of metals favors their use for
neuromuscular stimulation devices, the most common example being cardiac
pacemakers. These favorable properties (good fracture resistance, electrical
conductivity, formability) are related to the metallic interatomic bonding that
characterizes this class of material.
Metallic biomaterials can be conveniently grouped into three major metal groups:

a) Iron-based stainless steels,

b) Cobalt-based alloys, and

c) Pure titanium and titanium alloys.

 Both the steels and cobalt alloys have corrosion resistance due to alloying addition of
chromium, which renders the alloy passive.

 Titanium itself develops passivity and results in corrosion resistance of its alloys.

 The major advantages of using certain metals and alloys for biomedical applications,
their biocompatibility, appropriate mechanical properties, and reasonable cost.
Stainless Steels
• Metals like Fe, Cr, Co, Ni, Ti, Ta, Nb, Mo, and W can only be tolerated in minute
amounts in the blood.

• Leaching of metals is also possible in the body, which leads to corrosion, poisoning, and
weakening of the implant.

• So, alloying is done to improve the properties of the metallic materials.

• Steels are alloys of iron with very low carbon content (≤ 0.2 wt.%), and stainless steels
have a significant amount of chromium (17–20%).
• 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.
• 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.
• 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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