Electrochemical and biological characterization of Ti–Nb–Zr–Si alloy for orthopedic applications

The performance of current biomedical titanium alloys is limited by inflammatory and severe inflammatory conditions after implantation. In this study, a novel Ti–Nb–Zr–Si (TNZS) alloy was developed and compared with commercially pure titanium, and Ti–6Al–4V alloy. Electrochemical parameters of specimens were monitored during 1 h and 12 h immersion in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) as a normal, PBS/hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as an inflammatory, and PBS/H₂O₂/albumin/lactate as a severe inflammatory media. The results showed an effect of the H₂O₂ in inflammatory condition and the synergistic behavior of H₂O₂, albumin, and lactate in severe inflammatory condition towards decreasing the corrosion resistance of titanium biomaterials. Electrochemical tests revealed a superior corrosion resistance of the TNZS in all conditions due to the presence of silicide phases. The developed TNZS was tested for subsequent cell culture investigation to understand its biocompatibility nature. It exhibited favorable cell-materials interactions in vitro compared with Ti–6Al–4V. The results suggest that TNZS alloy might be a competitive biomaterial for orthopedic applications.