Traditionally, 316L austenitic stainless steel and Co-Cr alloys have been employed as metallic orthopedic permanent implants. However, these materials exhibit an exceedingly large Young’s modulus and can be cytotoxic. Ti–6Al–4V is currently the most widely used structural Ti-based material for the replacement of hard tissues in artificial joints. Nevertheless, the release of both V and Al ions from this alloy to the human body might cause long-term health problems, such as peripheral neuropathy, osteomalacia, and Alzheimer diseases. Elements like Nb, Zr, Mo or Ta are the safest that can be alloyed with titanium, leading to the so-called “second generation biomaterials”. Usually these alloys contain a large proportion of bcc-Ti solid solution and are known as beta-phase Ti alloys. Alternatively, Ti-based bulk metallic glasses have also attracted huge interest in recent years since they show higher strength and lower Young’s modulus than their crystalline counterparts. All these materials are produced and characterized in our Group.

 

In turn, the need for temporary implants such as plates, screws, pins, stents and sutures has recently prompted a lively research activity in the field of biodegradable materials. Polymers and metals have been advocated as potential bioabsorbable candidates. Compared to polymers, metals show superior mechanical properties (e.g. higher strength to bulk ratio) which make them the material of choice in many applications. Our research activity in this field focuses on the study of FeMn-based alloys with controlled porosity. In collaboration with the Department of Cellular Biology, Physiology and Immunology at UAB, we study cells adhesion onto the surfaces of these alloys. The obtained results in this field aim to provide baseline information to fathom out the mechanisms responsible for in vitro biocorrosion of this type of alloys and give some insights regarding their cytotoxicity in a physiological environment.