Effect of protein concentration on corrosion of Ti-6Al-4V and 316L SS alloys

Abstract

Titanium and stainless steel have become attractive materials especially in medical applications due to their improvement of implant performance and longevity. The corrosion behaviour for stainless steel 316L (316L SS) and Ti-6Al-4V under simulated biological conditions with the presence of proteins were investigated using electrochemical methods. The electrochemical tests were performed with the addition of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with concentrations of 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% at 37°C. The electrochemical methods used in this study were open circuit potential (OCP), potentiodynamics polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that stable corrosion resistance of the two alloys can be obtained under protein-containing solutions. The protein adsorption to the metal surface at high impedance results indicated that at all protein concentrations showed great performance and the most stable film formed on the 316L SS and Ti-6Al-4V are in the solution that contain 8% of BSA.