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Investigation of nickel suppression and cytocompatibility of surface‐treated nickel‐titanium shape memory alloys by using plasma immersion ion implantation
Author(s) -
Yeung K. W. K.,
Poon R. W. Y.,
Liu X. Y.,
Ho J. P. Y.,
Chung C. Y.,
Chu P. K.,
Lu W. W.,
Chan D.,
Cheung K. M. C.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part a
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.849
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1552-4965
pISSN - 1549-3296
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.a.30201
Subject(s) - nickel titanium , materials science , plasma immersion ion implantation , nickel , immersion (mathematics) , shape memory alloy , titanium , ion implantation , plasma , nitrogen , ion , metallurgy , surface modification , biomedical engineering , chemical engineering , medicine , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , engineering , pure mathematics
Nickel‐titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloys are increasingly being used in orthopedic applications. However, there is a concern that Ni is harmful to the human body. We have recently investigated the use of nitrogen, or oxygen plasma immersion ion implantation to mitigate this deleterious effect. Our results reveal that the near‐surface Ni concentration in all the treated samples is significantly suppressed. In addition, our in vitro tests show that the plasma‐treated surfaces are cytologically compatible allowing the attachment and proliferation of osteoblasts. Among the two types of samples, the best biological effects are found on the samples with nitrogen implantation. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 72A: 238–245, 2005