Behavior of Commercially Pure Titanium and Ti-318 (Ti-6Al-4V) in Orthopedic Implants

Abstract

At the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital major replacement of long bones began in 1949, and the first titanium-containing endoprosthesis was inserted in 1964. By now over 250 titanium-containing endoprostheses of various kinds have been inserted. Most of these components were made on a modular basis and included sections of cast cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloy. In 1972 titanium alloy 318 (Ti-318)(Ti-6Al-4V) was introduced, and this alloy largely replaced the previously used commercially pure titanium. This paper presents our experiences with these endoprostheses, with titanium total hip replacements, and with other titanium devices. Using standard statistical methods, survival curves for the nonremoval of the component were obtained. These curves demonstrated that the performance of upper femoral, lower femoral, and upper tibial endoprostheses was slightly worse than that of standard total hip replacements. This worse performance was a result of five intramedullary stem fractures, but we now think that this problem has been overcome by the introduction of Ti-318. These and other fractures emphasize the importance of good design, good surface finish, and optimum stem or section size. There was no evidence that the combination within a single implant of cobalt-chromium-molybdenum and titanium, commercially pure or alloy, caused corrosion or clinically significant problems. Although blackening of adjacent tissue has been observed, there was no evidence that this was associated with an undesirable tissue response.

Glass peek composite promotes proliferation and osteocalcin production of human osteoblastic cells

“…This ability of GPEEK to maintain cell viability and function is reminiscent of other biomaterials, such as the bioactive glasses and the traditional metallic alloys used in orthopedics. 1,2,9,[16][17][18][19][20][21] The osteoblastic MG63 cell line was also shown to flourish on the surfaces of these materials in vitro. [16][17][18][19][20] Although the cell yield from the different GPEEK discs was not significantly different from that of polystyrene, fewer cells were recovered from the discs.…”

“…Traditionally, metallic alloys such as cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (Co-Cr-Mo) and titanium-albumin-vanadium (Ti-6Al-4V) have been used as the materials of choice for orthopedic implants. 1,2 However, metallic alloys are inflexible and have elastic moduli approximately 10-20 times greater than cortical bone. 3 Thus, the implant bears the majority of the load, leaving the bone unstressed.…”

Effects of strain rate and temperature on mechanical behaviour of Ti–15Mo–5Zr–3Al alloy

“…In the mid-1980s, α + β phase Ti-6Al-4V was commonly regarded as an ideal material for medical implants (Steinemann, 1984;Dobbs and Scales, 1983). However, more recent research has revealed that Ti-6Al-4V debris contains Vanadium, which is harmful to human health (Nichols and Puleo, 1997).…”

Titanium substrata composition influences osteoblastic phenotype:In vitro study

“…2,3 Ti(cpi) is used to fabricate implants used in dentistry 4 and maxillofacial reconstruction, 5 as well as to coat devices constructed from titanium alloy. 6 Although Ti(cpi) is not strong enough to be used in orthopedics, 7 the addition of Al and V to Ti creates an alloy with great strength; and together with its low elastic modulus and excellent biocompatibility, 8 this makes it a preferred orthopedic material.…”