Surface modification of stainless steel for biomedical applications: Revisiting a century-old material

Abstract

Stainless steel (SS) has been widely used as a material for fabricating cardiovascular stents/valves, orthopedic prosthesis, and other devices and implants used in biomedicine due to its malleability and resistance to corrosion and fatigue. Despite its good mechanical properties, SS (as other metals) lacks biofunctionality. To be successfully used as a biomaterial, SS must be made resistant to the biological environment by increasing its anti-fouling properties, preventing biofilm formation (passive surface modification), and imparting functionality for eluting a specific drug or capturing selected cells (active surface modification); these features depend on the final application. Various physico-chemical techniques, including plasma vapor deposition, electrochemical treatment, and attachment of different linkers that add functional groups, are used to obtain SS with increased corrosion resistance, improved osseointegration capabilities, added hemocompatibility, and enhanced antibacterial properties. Existing literature on this topic is extensive and has not been covered in an integrated way in previous reviews. This review aims to fill this gap, by surveying the literature on SS surface modification methods, as well as modification routes tailored for specific biomedical applications.

Characterization of Sol-Gel Derived Calcium Hydroxyapatite Coatings Fabricated on Patterned Rough Stainless Steel Surface

“…The characteristic calcium hydroxyapatite absorption bands in the range of 1100-950 cm −1 were clearly visible [32]. Strong bands located at 1035 and 1090 cm −1 resulted from the ν 1 symmetric P-O stretching vibrations in PO 4 3− [32,33]. The broad band visible in the range of 3600-3300 cm −1 is associated with O-H stretch vibrations and attributed to adsorbed water [29,32,34].…”

“…Fibrous tissue formation is caused by the absorption of protein and other organic molecules on the hydrophobic surface of metals. Hydrophobic surfaces attract these organic molecules with enhanced formation of the above-mentioned biofilms [4,5]. It was suggested that formation of protein capsules may cause inflammation at the implant-bone interface, followed by the rejection of an implant [6].…”

Materials for Orthopedic Bioimplants: Modulating Degradation and Surface Modification Using Integrated Nanomaterials

“…SS-based bioimplants either need revision surgery or to be used as a permanent bioimplant after bioactive coating or surface modification using bioactive nanomaterials. The modification of SS with bioactive hydroxyapatite (HA) improves the osseointegration and bio-integration properties of an orthopedic bioimplant [63,83,84]. Typical applications include bone plates, medullary nails, screws, pins, sutures, and steel threads used in fixation of fractures [14,[85][86][87][88][89][90].…”

Surface Characteristics and Cell Adhesion Behaviors of the Anodized Biomedical Stainless Steel

“…[4,[8][9][10][11]. To improve these disadvantages of BSSs and then enhance their surface properties and biocompatibility, various surface modification approaches were employed to alter the surface performances of BSSs [12][13][14][15][16]. Tonino et al [17] have indicated that the formation of a porous oxide layer on the surface of the 316L BSS implants can be utilized in the morphological fixation of the implants to bone through bony ingrowth into the porous microstructure.…”