Research progress in titanium alloy in the field of orthopaedic implants

Owing to the excellent biocompatibility and corrosion resistance of titanium and its alloys in the biological environments, they are one of the best materials in the medical implant applications. Moreover, it has a lower elastic modulus (comparable to bone) than traditional metal implant materials which is an influential property due to the stress-shielding effect. There are some requirements for implant materials according to their clinical use and the periphery tissues. Hence, some factors should be considered, such as metal degradation, toxicity issues, surface characteristics, biocompatibility, and fusion with bone. Considering the above-mentioned information, titanium material design with superior performance to meet the essential clinical needs is an important challenge and attracts much attention from the academicians in the biomaterial field. This paper discusses the structural and performance characteristics of medical titanium alloys and the current research status in the direction of orthopedic applications. Furthermore, in future research, through changing the elemental composition, increasing the surface modification, and optimizing the production process, titanium alloy materials could have the excellent comprehensive performance to serve human beings better.