No abstract

Metals such as titanium and its alloys are often used for bone replacement in orthopedic biomedicine due to their excellent biocompatibility. Ti-6Al-4V is a titanium alloy mostly used as implant material for bone reconstruction. This alloy is considered to possibly release vanadium (V) ions that are known to cause cytotoxic effects. The V-free gamma-TiAl alloy has shown to be an excellent biocompatible alloy with high corrosion resistant properties. hFOB cells were cultured on both Ti alloys thermally oxidized at temperatures of 121 °C, 500°C, and 700°C. A MTT Assay technique was used in order to compare the viability of hFOB cells at a qualitative level, while atomic absorbance spectroscopy using graphite furnace (GF-AAS) was used to evaluate vanadium traces from Ti-6Al-4V. The presence of V trace elements was observed in media from cell cultures onTi-6Al-4V treated at temperatures from 500°C and 700°C. Data obtained suggests a direct relationship with V presence and increase in degree of cell death of hFOB cells cultured on Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Further studies of V-free alloys are highly recommended in order to obtain the best biocompatible material for orthopedic implants.