AES analysis of stainless steel corroded in saline, in serum and in vivo.

Auger electron spectroscopic (AES) studies were conducted to examine the surface film of stainless steel specimens which had been subjected to passive and anodic corrosion in vitro and in vivo. Anodic corrosion was accelerated by the application of a +500 mV (SCE) potential for 30 minutes. Experiments performed in 0.9% saline indicated little alteration in the nature of the surface film compared to a freshly prepared control specimen. Auger analysis of specimens in 10% serum or in vivo revealed that passive film thickness was dependent on the corrosive environment. The films of specimens immersed under freely corroding conditions in 10% serum or in vivo were similar to the control film. Accelerated corrosion performed in 10% calf serum resulted in significant film thickening. The thickest films were from accelerated corrosion in vivo. The mechanism for the altered surface films produced by corrosion in vivo or in serum as compared to saline needs to be investigated further.