In-vitro and in-vivo evaluation of a new Ti-15Mo-1Bi alloy

The newly developed Ti‐15Mo‐1Bi alloy not only possesses all the desirable mechanical properties inherent to β‐Ti Mo alloys, but may even enjoy better clinical applicability with the addition of bismuth element, which has long been administered as antibacterial and antitumor medicines. A significantly higher viability of 3T3 cells was demonstrated when they were grown on Ti‐15Mo‐1Bi alloy than on Ti‐15Mo and Ti‐6Al‐4V. Cells incubated in the medium conditioned by Bi powder at 37°C for 96 h exhibited viability similar to that in the blank group and higher than that in the Ni conditioned group. In vivo experiments using 6 mm × 2 mm metal pin implanted into the epicondyle of rabbit femur revealed superior potential of new bone growth and better persistence of the deposited bony tissue with the Ti‐15Mo‐1Bi alloy in contrast to that with Ti‐6Al‐4V. The difference is evident at 12th week and become even more prominent after 26 weeks, with the new bone area measuring 249% of that around Ti‐6Al‐4V alloy. In summary, Ti‐15Mo‐1Bi alloys show no cytotoxicity in the in‐vitro test and demonstrates superior ability to retain bone in the in‐vivo implantation experiment as compared with Ti‐6Al‐4V alloys. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 2009