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Metallic Biomaterials

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Biomedical Materials

Abstract

Metallic biomaterials continue to be used extensively for the fabrication of surgical implants primarily because of their good load-bearing characteristics and fatigue properties thereby providing acceptable long-term performance when needed. Acceptable chemical compositions for metallic biomaterials, however, are limited due to the necessary requirement of biocompatibility related primarily to material corrosion and wear resistance. However, achieving acceptable properties with biocompatible metallic biomaterials requires their proper processing and use with suitable implant designs. The relative ease of fabrication of both simple and complex metal shapes using well-established and widely available fabrication techniques (e.g., casting, forging, machining) has promoted metal use for making implants used extensively in orthopedics and dentistry in which high mechanical loading is often experienced as well as in the cardiovascular and neurovascular fields where electrical conductivity as well as mechanical reliability to avoid life-threatening failures are important. Metal microstructures and properties are determined by processing procedures used to form the metals, which in turn determine implant performance. A sound understanding of this processing–structure/property–performance interrelationship is key to making safe and effective implantable devices. As discussed in this chapter, the desired favorable properties (e.g. good fracture resistance, electrical conductivity, formability) are related at a basic level to the metallic interatomic bonding and atom arrangements that characterize metals. While the purpose of this chapter is to focus on the important issues pertaining to the processing and performance of metallic biomaterials and to review the metals that are currently used for implant fabrication, a brief discussion of new directions in metallic biomaterial development is also presented.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Robert M. Pilliar

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  1. Robert M. Pilliar
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Correspondence to Robert M. Pilliar .

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  1. Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Roger Narayan

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Pilliar, R.M. (2021). Metallic Biomaterials. In: Narayan, R. (eds) Biomedical Materials. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49206-9_1

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