Orthopedics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Orthopedics, including details on chronic injuries, muscoskeletal disorders, surgery, reconstruction.

Recent advances in the design of titanium alloys for orthopedic applications.

Guillemot F

INSERM U-577 Biomatériaux et Réparation Tissulaire, Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France. fabien.guillemot@bordeaux.inserm.fr

To increase an orthopedic implant's lifetime, research trends have included the development of new titanium alloys made of nontoxic elements with suitable mechanical properties (low Young's modulus - high fatigue strength), good workability and corrosion resistance. In accordance with the background on titanium and metallic biomaterials, recent interesting developments in titanium-based biomaterials are reported in this review, with a special emphasis on the design of new metastable beta-titanium alloys for orthopedic applications. In addition, as the concept of titanium alloys can now be regarded as relatively old, having emerged at the beginning of the 1980s, the author suggests some future directions that would permit the emergence of a new generation of titanium implants.

Published 21 November 2005 in Expert Rev Med Devices, 2(6): 741-8.
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