Materials Science

Abstract

The crevice corrosion susceptibility of cold-worked Type 316LVM stainless steel, cast Co-Cr-Mo, wrought Co-Cr-W-Ni, non-nitrided and nitrided Ti-6Al-4V ELI, and c.p. Ti, Grades 1 and 4, was studied in vitro by means of a crevice cell. Occlusion was created by interfacing a disc specimen and a Teflon bar. Specimens were mechanically prepared through 2-4 μm Al₂O₃ and passivated in 30% HNO₃, followed by steam sterilization. Tests were performed in a deaerated Ringer's solution, maintained at pH = 7 and 37°C. Anodic polarization was conducted potentiostatically at pre-selected levels, and resultant currents were monitored: stainless steel, 50 and 100 mV (S.C.E.), 450 min; non-stainless materials, 600 mV, 1000 min. Results for the stainless steel demonstrated that a HNO₃ passivation treatment reduced its crevice corrosion susceptibility. For the non-stainless steel materials, no crevice corrosion susceptibility was observed, although a dulling and discoloration of c.p. Ti was evident. Recognizing that 600 mV is in excess of the O₂ reduction potential in vivo, it was concluded that, in the absence of fretting, implants of these non-stainless steel materials would not experience significant corrosion loss under crevice conditions.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Astm Standards For Medical And Surgical Materials And Devices (1978): Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Part 46, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: American Society for Testing and Materials.

Brettle, J. and Hughes, A.N. (1978): The Corrosion Properties of Currently Used and Potentially Useful Surgical Implant Materials, Eng Med 7:142-150.

British Standard 3531 (1968): Specification for Metal Implants and Tools Used in Bone Surgery, Part 1. Materials for Metal and Surgical Implants, British Standards Institution .

Brown, S.A. and Merritt, K. (1981): Metal Allergy and Metallurgy. In: Implant Retrieval: Material and Biological Analysis, A. Weinstein, D. Gibbons, S. Brown, and W. Ruff, Eds., Washington, DC: Natl Bur Stand Spec Publ. 601, pp. 259-321.

Cahoon, J.R. ; Bandyopadhya, R. ; and Tennese, L. (1975): The Concept of Protection Potential Applied to the Corrosion of Metallic Orthopedic Implants, J Biomed Mater Res 9 :259-264.

Cranin, A.N. ; Silverbrand, H. ; Sher, J. ; and Satler, N. (1982): The Requirements and Clinical Performance of Dental Implants. In: Biocompatibility of Dental Implants, Vol. IV , D.C. Smith and D.F. Williams , Eds., Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, Inc., pp. 197-229.

Devine, T.M. and Wulff, J. (1976): The Comparative Crevice Corrosion Resistance of Co-Cr Base Surgical Implant Alloys, J Electrochem Soc 123:1433-1437.

Fontana, M.G. and Greene, N.D. (1967): Corrosion Engineering, New York, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, pp. 302-303.

Galante, J. and Rostoker, W. (1972): Corrosion-related Failures in Metallic Implants , Clin Orthop Relat Res 86: 237-244.

10.

Levine, D.L. and Staehle, R.W. (1977): Crevice Corrosion of Orthopedic Implant Metals , J Biomed Mater Res 11: 553-561. Lucas, L.C. ; Buchanan, R.A. ; Lemons, J.E. ; and Griffin, C.D. (1982): Susceptibility of Surgical Cobalt-base Alloy to Pitting Corrosion , J Biomed Mater Res 16:799-810.

11.

Meachim, G. and Williams, D.F. (1973): Changes in Nonosseous Tissue Adjacent to Titanium Implants, J Biomed Mater Res 7:555-572.

12.

Mueller, H.J. and Greener, E.H. (1970): Polarization Studies of Surgical Materials in Ringer's Solution, J Biomed Mater Res 4:29-41.

13.

Rostoker, W. ; Galante, J.O. ; and Lereim, P. (1978): Evaluation of Couple/Crevice Corrosion by Prosthetic Alloys under in vivo Conditions, J Biomed Mater Res 12:823-829.

14.

Solar, R.J. ; Pollack, S.R. ; and Korostoff, E. (1979): In vitro Corrosion Testing of Titanium Surgical Implant Alloys: An Approach to Understanding Titanium Release from Implants , J Biomed Mater Res 13:217-250.

15.

Sutow, E.J. and Jones, D.W. (1979): A Crevice Corrosion Cell Configuration, J Dent Res 58:1358-1363.

16.

Suzuki, T. ; Yamabe, M. ; and Kitamura, Y. (1973): Composition of the Anolyte within Pit Anode of Austenitic Stainless Steels in Chloride Solution, Corrosion 29:18-22.

17.

Syrett, B.C. (1977): The Application of Electrochemical Techniques to the Study of Corrosion of Metallic Implant Materials. In: Electrochemical Techniques for Corrosion, R. Baboian , Ed., Houston, Texas: NACE, pp. 93-100.

18.

Woolf, C.M. (1968): Principles of Biometry, Princeton, New Jersey: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., pp. 101-106.

19.

Williams, D.F. (1982): Corrosion of Orthopedic Implants. In: Biocompatibility of Orthopedic Implants, Vol. I, D.F. Williams , Ed., Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, Inc., pp. 197-229.