Ti-Ga binary alloys developed as potential dental materials

In this study, the microstructure, mechanical properties, castability, electrochemical behaviors and cytotoxicity of as-cast Ti-Ga alloys with pure Ti as control were systematically investigated to assess their potential application in dental field. The results of OM and XRD showed that the microstructure of all experimental as-cast Ti-Ga alloys exhibited single α-Ti phase at room temperature. Mechanical tests indicated that the tensile strength, Young's modulus, microhardness and wear resistance were improved monotonically with the increase of Ga content. The castability test showed that Ti-2Ga alloy increased the castability value of pure Ti by 14.2(±3.8)% (p<0.05). The electrochemical behaviors in both artificial saliva solutions indicated that the studied Ti-Ga alloys showed better corrosion resistance than pure Ti. The cytotoxicity test suggested that the studied Ti-Ga alloys produced no significant deleterious effect to L929 fibroblast cells and MG63 osteosarcoma cells, similar to pure Ti, indicating an excellent in vitro biocompatibility. The cell morphology test showed that both L929 and MG63 cells process excellent cell adhesion ability on all experimental materials. Considering all these results, Ti-2Ga alloy exhibits the optimal comprehensive performance and has potential for dental applications.