A novel alloy development approach: Biomedical equiatomic Ta-Nb-Ti alloy

Abstract

In the present manuscript, we report on the properties of an equiatomic Ta-Nb-Ti alloy as the basis for a novel, biomedical, multi-component alloy development. The alloy was produced using an arc melting furnace under Ar atmosphere, metallographically prepared, and investigated respectively. Furthermore, the alloy produced, as well as samples of elemental Ta, Nb, alloy Co-28Cr-6Mo, and alloy Ti-6Al-4V, were prepared with defined 1200 grit SiC grinding paper. The topography of the surfaces was evaluated using confocal microscopy and contact angle measurements subsequently. Afterwards, the biocompatibility of the novel alloy Ta-Nb-Ti was evaluated by means of cell (osteoblast) attachment as well as monocyte inflammatory response analysis. First results indicate competitive osteoblast attachment, as well as comparable expressions of fibrosis markers in comparison to conventionally used biomedical materials. In addition, the Ta-Nb-Ti alloy showed a markedly reduced inflammatory capacity, indicating a high potential for use as a prospective biomedical material.