Recent metallic materials for biomedical applications

Metallic biomaterials are mainly used for replacing failed hard tissue. The main metallic biomaterials are stainless steels, Co-based alloys, and titanium and its alloys. Recently, titanium alloys are getting much attention for biomaterials. The various kinds of new high strength alpha + beta and low-modulus beta-type titanium alloys composed of nontoxic elements, such as Nb, Ta, Zr, etc., are developed for biomedical applications because of the toxicity of alloying elements and lack of mechanical biocompatibility of conventional titanium alloys, such as Ti-6Al-4V. Recent research and development in other metallic alloys, such as stainless steels and Co-based alloys, also will be discussed.