Biomechanical Evaluation of Ti-Nb-Sn Alloy Implants with a Low Young’s Modulus

Abstract

Dental implants are widely used and are a predictable treatment in various edentulous cases. Occlusal overload may be causally related to implant bone loss and a loss of integration. Stress concentrations may be diminished using a mechanobiologically integrated implant with bone tissue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biomechanical behavior, biocompatibility and bioactivity of a Ti-Nb-Sn alloy as a dental implant material. It was compared with cpTi. Cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were quantified. To assess the degree of osseointegration, a push-in test was carried out. Cell proliferation and ALP activity in the cells grown on prepared surfaces were similar for the Ti-Nb-Sn alloy and for cpTi in all the experiments. A comparison between the Ti-Nb-Sn alloy implant and the cpTi implant revealed that no significant difference was apparent for the push-in test values. These results suggest that implants fabricated using Ti-Nb-Sn have a similar biological potential as cpTi and are capable of excellent osseointegration.

Comprehensive in vitro and in vivo studies of novel melt-derived Nb-substituted 45S5 bioglass reveal its enhanced bioactive properties for bone healing

“…Moreover, recent works have reported the ability of niobium ions to enhance differentiation and mineralization of osteogenic cells in vitro 24 , 25 . Metallic niobium has been used in titanium alloys for endosseous implants, aiming to increase the biocompatibility and corrosion resistance, with superior fatigue resistance 27 . Similar behaviour of phosphate bioactive glass was observed on adding Nb 2 O 5 23 , 26 .…”

Histomorphometric assessments of peri-implant bone around Ti-Nb-Sn alloy implants with low Young’s modulus

“…We previously reported that Ti-Nb-Sn alloy implant with a low Young's modulus has biomechanical properties (hydrophilicity, ability to induce cell proliferation, and alkaline phosphatase activity) similar to those of Ti, and gives excellent osseointegration (values from pushin tests) 20) . In this study, we performed fluorescent morphological observations of ST-2 cells on a substrate and bone morphogenesis around implants.…”

“…It has been reported that this Ti-Nb-based alloy containing Nb is easily fabricated by conventional cold working or plastic forming processes followed by heat treatment 21) . Surface characterization details were reported in our previous paper 20) . Briefly, these specimens were mechanically polished with a lathe machine regulated at 15 μm intervals.…”

“…Ti-Nb-Sn alloy is a new β-Ti alloy; its most important characteristics are its low Young's modulus, which is close to that of human cortical bone, and high tensile strength 15,16) . Ti-Nb-Sn alloys give greater biocompatibility, bone induction ability, and binding capacity between the metal matrix and hydroxyapatite compared with those obtained with other β-Ti alloys [17][18][19][20] . These excellent properties can affect the stress distribution along the interface between the implant and marginal bone, therefore Ti-Nb-Sn alloy implants might transfer less stress to the peri-implant bone and cause less bone deformation than Ti implants.…”

“…We have been working to evaluate a series of biocompatibility, bioactivity and mechanical property of Ti-Nb-Sn alloy implant. We previously reported that Ti-Nb-Sn alloy implants have biocompatibility similar to those of Ti, and give excellent biomechanical strength of bone-implant integration 20) . In this study, we performed the cell morphological observations on substrates and bone morphogenesis around implants because our substrate materials had different surface roughness and Young's modulus, which may affect the ability of initial cell contact with the substrate surface and the bone quality of new bone formation.…”