Effect of the pH of artificial saliva on ion release from commercially pure titanium

Abstract

Due to their excellent characteristics, such as chemical inertness, mechanical resistance, low Young's modulus, high corrosion resistance, and outstanding biocompatibility, titanium and its alloys are the most used metallic materials for biomedical applications. In dental practice, these materials have demonstrated success as biomedical devices which are used for repairing and replacing failed hard tissue. However, the oral cavity is constantly subjected to the changes in the pH value changes and such an environment is strongly corrosive for titanium dental implants. The objective of this study was to examine ion release from commercially pure titanium (cpTi) in artificial saliva with different pH values (4.0, 5.5 and 7.5). The concentrations of released titanium ions were determined after 1, 3 and 6 weeks using Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry. The results indicate that the ion release from commercially pure titanium in the artificial saliva is dependent both on the pH of artificial saliva and duration of immersion.