New Titanium Alloy of Ti-Fe-O-N for Dental Implant

Abstract

Ti-6Al-4V alloy (Ti-Al-V) is used in dental implants and artificial hip joints to take advantage of its higher mechanical strength compared to cp Ti. However, the toxicity of vanadium and aluminum in the titanium alloy has been reported by several investigators since 1965. This study was carried out to compare the mechanical properties and the biocompatibility of Ti-Fe alloy (TiX®) to those of conventional metallic implant materials. The mechanical properties of TiX® were measured and compared with cp Ti, Ti-Al-V, SUS316, SUS304, Co-Cr-Mo, and Ag-Sn. The tensile strength of TiX® and Ti-Al-V were greater than those of Co-Cr-Mo, SUS316, and SUS304. The yield point of TiX® was slightly lower than that of Ti-Al-V, but higher than that of cp Ti. These results suggested the mechanical properties of TiX® were superior to those of Co-Cr-Mo, SUS316, and SUS304. To evaluate the biocompatibility, cell culture technique with L929 cells was used to investigate the cell multiplication, and SEM to investigate the morphological change of adhered cells onto TiX®. The cell growth rate of TiX® was slightly higher than those of Ti-Al-V and SUS316. Severe cytotoxicity was observed in Ag-Sn, and mild cytotoxicity in Ti-Al-V, SUS316, SUS304 using gyratory culture method. These results revealed that TiX® is a useful metallic material for wire, plate, porous, and mesh in dental and medical use, because of the favorable biocompatibility and easy fabrication.