Total hip prostheses combining cobalt and titanium alloys in direct physical contact are currently being used. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the possibility of an accelerated corrosion occurring due to the coupling of these alloys. Electrochemical corrosion studies based on mixed potential and protection potential theories were used to study the in vitro effects of coupling the titanium and cobalt alloys. Verification of these studies was made by direct coupling experiments. Macroscopic examination of' surface features of four retrieved total hip prostheses ranging from 0-6 years implantation were conducted. The electrochemical studies predicted coupled corrosion potentials of -0.22 V and low coupled corrosion rates of 0.02 microA/cm2. Direct coupling experiments verified these results. Cobalt-titanium interfaces on the implants were macroscopically examined, and no instances of extensive corrosion were found. Overall, the in vitro corrosion studies and the examination of retrieved prostheses predicted no exaggerated in vivo corrosion due to the coupling of these cobalt and titanium alloys.
The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo susceptibilities of a surgical cobalt-chromiummolybdenum alloy to localized corrosion. In uitro cyclic anodic polarization curves were generated for the cobalt alloy under various surface and electrolyte conditions. Surfaces of the test specimens were examined before and after each polarization experiment. In vivo analyses involved macroscopic and microscopic examinations of cobalt alloy surfaces on retrieved total hip prostheses. The electrolyte selected for the in vitro polarization study was 0.9% saline at a pH of 7.00 f 0.05 and temperature of 37 f 1°C in both aerated and deaerated conditions. Surface conditions for the cobalt alloys included nonpassivated and passivated treatments. Hysteresis behavior was exhibited by the passivated alloy but not by the nonpassivated alloy. According to the protection potential theory, hysteresis behavior indicates a material should be susceptible to pitting corrosion. Therefore, based on polarization curves and theory, the results of the present study indicated the cobalt alloy was susceptible to pitting corrosion when in the passivated condition but not when in the nonpassivated condition. Examination of the surfaces before and after each polarization curve revealed no evidence of pitting corrosion. Also, the examination of nonwear cobalt surfaces of total hip prostheses with implantation times up to 6 years revealed no features uniquely identified as the result of pitting corrosion. Therefore, it was hypothesized that certain conditions inherent in the electrochemical phase of this study had caused the development of hysteresis behavior for the passivated alloy, and this hysteresis behavior should not be associated with pitting corrosion as is normally taken to be the case by application of the protection potential theory. Instead, it is postulated that the hysteresis behavior exhibited by the passivated alloy is due to processes involving a breakdown of the pre-established passive film followed by a repassivation characteristic of the saline electrolyte.
The objective of this study was to produce corrosion behavior data for each of the commonly used metallic alloys in surgical implants. In addition, by applying the known electrochemical corrosion theory, the study aims to predict the behavior of galvanic couples made of any two of the materials. From this predicted behavior, potentially useful couples that are not expected to show significantly increased corrosion rates were identified.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.