New Ni-free superelastic alloy for orthodontic applications

A potential new Ni-free Ti alloy for biomedical applications was assessed in order to investigate the superelastic behavior, corrosion resistance and the biocompatibility. The alloy studied was Ti19.1Nb8.8Zr. The chemical composition was determined by X-ray microanalysis, the thermoelastic martensitic transformation was characterized by high sensitivity calorimeter. The critical stresses were determined by electromechanical testing machine and the corrosion behavior was analyzed by potentiostatic equipment in artificial saliva immersion at 37°C. The results were compared with six different NiTi orthodontic archwire brands. The biocompatibility was studied by means of cultures of MG63 cells. Ni-free Ti alloy exhibits thermoelastic martensitic transformation with Ms=45°C. The phase present at 37°C was austenite which under stress can induce martensite. The stress-strain curves show a superelastic effect with physiological critical stress (low and continuous) and a minimal lost of the recovery around 150 mechanical cycles. The corrosion resistance improves the values obtained by different NiTi alloys avoiding the problem of the Ni adverse reactions caused by Ni ion release. Cell culture results showed that adhered cell number in new substrate was comparable to that obtained in a commercially pure Ti grade II or beta-titanium alloy evaluated in the same conditions. Consequently, the new alloy presents an excellent in-vitro response.