Corrosion performances in simulated body fluids and cytotoxicity evaluation of Fe-based bulk metallic glasses

The aim of this work is to investigate the corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of three kinds of Fe based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs), Fe₄₁Co₇Cr₁₅Mo₁₄C₁₅B₆Y₂ (BMG1), (Fe₄₄Cr₅Co₅Mo₁₃Mn₁₁C₁₆B₆)₉₈Y₂ (BMG2), and Fe₄₈Cr₁₅Mo₁₄C₁₅B₆Er₂ (BMG3) by electrochemical measurements and indirect contact cytotoxicity assays, respectively. In comparison with 316 L SS biomedical steel, Fe based BMGs show better corrosion resistance in both simulated body fluids (Hank's solution and artificial saliva). The OCP curves show that the passive film on the Fe based BMG surfaces is quite stable, like 316 L SS. The corrosion current densities obtained from the anodic polarization curves from the lowest to highest are as follows: BMG3 < BMG1 < BMG2 < 316 L SS. The EIS analysis indicates that the Fe Based BMGs have larger polarization resistance value than that of 316 L SS except for BMG2 in artificial saliva. The pitting corrosion potentials of Fe based BMGs are much higher than that of the 316 L SS, resulting in very few ions releasing into the electrolytes while a significant amount of Ni and Fe ions release was found for 316 L SS under the same condition. The indirect cytotoxicity results suggest that all three Fe based BMG extracts have no cytotoxicity to L929 and NIH3T3 cells. All these results demonstrate that Fe based BMGs will open up a new path for the biomedical applications, especially in dental implantology.