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Recently, there has been an extension of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology of metal materials in the medical field. Additive technology has made it possible to manufacture customized implants. However, 3D printing products often require surface treatment. The possible treatments include acid etching. This study investigated the effect of surface etching on the corrosion resistance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy concerning biological applications. The samples were etched in a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid. The corrosion behaviour was described by measuring the time dependence of polarization resistance in a saline solution and surface analysis. The results showed that etching creates a fluoride-rich layer on the surface, which negatively affects the corrosion behaviour of the material for up to 24 hr. Cytocompatibility tests showed that the resulting layer does not affect the biocompatibility of the material.

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Additive manufacturing is currently one of the promising methods for the fabrication of products of complex shapes. It is also used in medical applications, thanks to technological progress, which also enables the printing of metallic materials. However, the final products often have to undergo a final surface treatment. In this work, the influence of surface finishing on the corrosion behavior of the medical alloy Ti-6Al-4V prepared by the selective laser melting technique is studied. The samples were subjected to mechanical, chemical and electrochemical treatments. Corrosion behavior was investigated using DC and AC electrochemical techniques such as potentiodynamic and potentiostatic curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Furthermore, the influence of surface treatments on the possibility of localized corrosion attack was evaluated. The results showed that the surface treatments have a positive effect on the corrosion resistance and reduce the risk of crevice corrosion.