2015 Volume 83 Issue 12 Pages 1048-1052
To study the allergenic properties of titanium (Ti), the corrosion behaviors and following metal ions release of Ti and nickel (Ni) in simulated physiological environments were investigated. Anodic polarization tests and accelerated dissolution tests were performed in artificial saliva with and without fluorine, and in artificial sweat. Ti showed good corrosion resistance in the artificial saliva without fluorine even when the passive film was physically destroyed by mechanical wear. The concentration of Ti ions released into the solution showed relatively higher values in artificial saliva with fluorine and in artificial sweat, however, it remained to be below 10 ppm. On the other hand, Ni was not passivated in these solutions and the concentrations of the released Ni ions were about 100 ppm. Thus, Ti can be regarded as a considerably safer material than Ni from the viewpoint of corrosion engineering. The large differences in the corrosion characteristics and metal ion solubility between Ti and Ni under the experimental conditions are discussed.