Study of corrosion resistance of AISI 444 ferritic stainless steel for application as a biomaterial

Ferritic stainless steels are ferromagnetic materials. This property does not allow their use in orthopedic prosthesis. Nevertheless, in some specific applications, this characteristic is very useful, such as, for fixing dental and facial prostheses by using magnetic attachments. In this study, the corrosion resistance and cytotoxicity of the AISI 444 ferritic stainless steel, with low nickel content, extra-low interstitial levels (C and N) and Ti and Nb stabilizers, were investigated for magnetic dental attachments application. The ISO 5832-1 (ASTM F-139) austenitic stainless steel and a commercial universal keeper for dental attachment (Neo-magnet System) were evaluated for comparison reasons. The first stainless steel is the most used metallic material for prostheses, and the second one, is a ferromagnetic keeper for dental prostheses (NeoM). In vitro cytotoxicity analysis was performed by the red neutral incorporation method. The results showed that the AISI 444 stainless steel is non cytotoxic. The corrosion resistance was studied by anodic polarization methods and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), in a saline phosphate buffered solution (PBS) at 37 °C. The electronic properties of the passive film formed on AISI 444 SS were evaluated by the Mott-Schottky approach. All tested materials showed passivity in the PBS medium and the passive oxide film presented a duplex nature. The highest susceptibility to pitting corrosion was associated to the NeoM SS. This steel was also associated to the highest dopant concentration. The comparatively low levels of chromium (nearly 12.5%) and molybdenum (0.3%) of NeoM relatively to the other studied stainless steels are the probable cause of its lower corrosion resistance. The NeoM chemical composition does not match that of the SUS444 standards. The AISI 444 SS pitting resistance was equivalent to the ISO 5832-1 pointing out that it is a potential candidate for replacement of commercial ferromagnetic alloys used in dental prosthesis. (author)