Improve the corrosion and cytotoxic behavior of NiTi implants with use of the ion beam technologies

The corrosion resistance behavior and cytotoxicity of binary NiTi-base alloy specimens subjected to surface modification by silicon ion beams and the proliferative ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) of rat marrow on an ion-implanted surface of the alloy have been studied. The silicon ion beam processing of specimen surfaces is shown to bring about a nearly two-fold improvement in the corrosion resistance of the material to attack by acqueous solutions of NaCl and human plasma and a drastic decrease in the nickel concentration after immersion of the specimens into the solutions for ∼3400 and ∼6000 h, respectively. It is found that MSC proliferation strongly depends on the surface structure, roughness and chemical condition of NiTi implants.