A review on alloy design, biological response, and strengthening of β-titanium alloys as biomaterials

Highlights: • Design concepts to develop low modulus β-Ti alloys are reviewed. • Biological performance metrics of various alloying elements and their effective cost have been addressed. • Insight into the thermo-mechanical strengthening strategies to tailor high-strength to low-modulus implants. From the past few years, developments of β-Ti alloys have been the subject of active research in the medical domain. The current paper highlights significant findings in the area of β-Ti alloy design, biological responses, strengthening mechanisms, and developing low-cost implants with a high degree of biocompatibility. It is evident that an astonishing demand for developing the low modulus-high strength implants can be fulfilled by synchronizing β stabilizer content and incorporating tailored thermo-mechanical techniques. Furthermore, the biological response of the implants is as important as the physical properties that regulate healing response; hence, the optimum selection of alloying elements plays a curial role for clinical success. The paper also presents the evolution of patents in this field from the year 2010 to 2020 showing the relevant innovations that may benefit a wide range of researchers.