In vivo electrochemical corrosion study of a CoCrMo biomedical alloy in human synovial fluids.

The present study was initiated with the aim to assess the in vivo electrochemical corrosion behaviour of CoCrMo biomedical alloys in human synovial fluids in an attempt to identify possible patient or pathology specific effects. For this, electrochemical measurements (open circuit potential OCP, polarization resistance Rp, potentiodynamic polarization curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy EIS) were carried out on fluids extracted from patients with different articular pathologies and prosthesis revisions. Those electrochemical measurements could be carried out with outstanding precision and signal stability. The results show that the corrosion behaviour of CoCrMo alloy in synovial fluids not only depends on material reactivity but also on the specific reactions of synovial fluid components, most likely involving reactive oxygen species. In some patients the latter were found to determine the whole cathodic and anodic electrochemical response. Depending on patients, corrosion rates varied significantly between 50 and 750 mg dm(-2)year(-1).

Electrochemical behavior of near-beta titanium biomedical alloys in phosphate buffer saline solution.

The electrochemical behavior of three different near-ß titanium alloys (composed by Ti, Nb and Sn) obtained by powder metallurgy for biomedical applications has been investigated. Different electrochemical and microscopy techniques were used to study the influence of the chemical composition (Sn content) and the applied potential on the microstructure and the corrosion mechanisms of those titanium alloys. The addition of Sn below 4wt.% to the titanium powder improves the microstructural homogeneity and generates an alloy with high corrosion resistance with low elastic modulus, being more suitable as a biomaterial. When the Sn content is above 4%, the corrosion resistance considerably decreases by increasing the passive dissolution rate; this effect is enhanced with the applied potential.

Influence of carbides and microstructure of CoCrMo alloys on their metallic dissolution resistance.

CoCrMo alloys are passive and biocompatible materials widely used as joint replacements due to their good mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. Electrochemical behaviour of thermal treated CoCrMo alloys with different carbon content in their bulk alloy composition has been analysed. Both the amount of carbides in the CoCrMo alloys and the chemical composition of the simulated body fluid affect the electrochemical properties of these biomedical alloys, thus passive dissolution rate was influenced by the mentioned parameters. Lower percentage of carbon in the chemical composition of the bulk alloy and thermal treatments favour the homogenization of the surface (less amount of carbides), thus increasing the availability of Cr to form the oxide film and improving the corrosion resistance of the alloy.

Influence of the fabrication process and fluoride content on the tribocorrosion behaviour of Ti6Al4V biomedical alloy in artificial saliva.

Titanium and its alloys are widely used as dental implants due to their low density, excellent biocompatibility, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. However, during their lifetime Ti6Al4V biomedical alloys are subjected to different mechanical actions (i.e., sliding or fretting), thus resulting in a tribocorrosion system, which is an irreversible material degradation process due to the combined effect of corrosion and wear. In this study, the tribo-electrochemical behavior of cast and sintered (by powder metallurgy) Ti6Al4V alloy in artificial human saliva solution without and with fluoride additions of 100ppm and 1000ppm and in an average industrial mouth wash solution with a 112ppm fluoride content have been investigated by different electrochemical techniques. The same tribocorrosion mechanisms were found in the cast and sintered titanium alloys, although slightly different wear debris behavior was observed. At low applied passive potentials, wear rates are similar to those obtained under equilibrium conditions (Open Circuit Potential). There exists a critical fluoride concentration above which corrosion and tribocorrosion rates increase.

Adsorption of bovine serum albumin on CoCrMo surface: effect of temperature and protein concentration.

The adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) onto CoCrMo surface has been studied as a function of concentration of BSA and temperature by electrochemical techniques. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique was used to investigate the interfacial behaviour of BSA at open circuit potential (OCP). The charge transfer resistance was very sensitive to the amount of adsorbed protein, indicating that the adsorption process was accompanied by the transfer of charge and influenced the mechanism and kinetics of the corrosion reaction. At all the temperatures studied, adsorption of BSA onto the CoCrMo surface was successfully described with a Langmuir adsorption isotherm. EIS study was also carried out for determine the surface charge density, resulting from protein adsorption, and it was shown to be directly proportional to the amount of adsorbed protein (surface concentration). Thermodynamic data of adsorption was obtained for analyzing the adsorption of BSA onto CoCrMo surface. Gibbs free energy of adsorption, DeltaG(ADS) values, for BSA in the investigated temperature range (-51kJmol(-1)) showed that the molecules have a strong affinity for the CoCrMo surface. Enthalpy (DeltaH(ADS)) and entropy (DeltaS(ADS)) of adsorption suggested that the adsorption process of BSA onto the CoCrMo surface is an endothermic process and the molecule suffers structural changes when adsorbing on the metallic surface.