Development of Ti-Ag-Fe ternary titanium alloy for dental application.

A series of titanium-silver-iron ternary alloys have been prepared in this study, and their feasibility as dental materials has been evaluated by the microstructural examination, mechanical testing, corrosion resistance evaluation, surface analysis, and cytotoxicity tests. More and more β-Ti phase appears at room temperature and retains with the increasing of Fe content in Ti-5Ag-xFe alloy systems. The compression strength, wear resistance, and microhardness increase largely (p < 0.05) by the addition of element Fe to Ti-Ag alloy. Moreover, when comparing with commercial pure titanium (CP Ti), nobler electrochemical corrosion behavior could be obtained for Ti-5Ag-1Fe and Ti-5Ag-2.5Fe alloys in the 1% lactic acid solution (pH = 2.1) and 0.1 mol/L H(2) O(2) + 0.9% NaCl solution (pH = 4.0). The released metal ions from Ti-5Ag-xFe alloys into the simulated fluid are trace, similar to the case of CP Ti. The addition of Fe slightly decreases the corrosion resistance of Ti-5Ag alloy. All experimental Ti-5Ag-xFe alloy extracts do not present any cytotoxicity to L-929 and NIH3T3 cell lines. All in all, the combination of superior corrosion resistance and enhanced mechanical properties make Ti-5Ag-1Fe alloy and Ti-5Ag-2.5Fe alloy suitable for dental applications.