Los Alamos National Laboratory and Ufa State Aviation Technical University in Russia have developed a process for making strong, lightweight and corrosion-resistant medical implant material from pure titanium. This development could have worldwide impact on the use of titanium medical implants in health care. Typically, titanium alloys have been the materials of choice for medical implants. However, the small percentages of vanadium and aluminum metals contained in the alloy are potentially toxic. Normal wear can lead to deterioration of the implant and the release of alloy elements into the body.
Pure titanium is chemically and biologically more compatible with human fluids and tissue.
But it is too weak for prostheses that must bear heavy loads, such as leg or hipbone implants. The billets emerged having the original dimensions, but the process reduced the metal's grain size from 10 microns, or 10 millionths of a meter, to about 260 nanometers, or 260 billionths of a meter. This reduction in grain size increased the strength of pure titanium by 70 percent. This new process creates medical implants that are strong enough to bear heavy loads without failure. The implant material is corrosion resistant and chemically compatible with body organs and fluids so it can remain in the body for years.