Bio-functional Design for Metal Implants, a New Concept for Development of Metallic Biomaterials

A new concept for development of metallic biomaterials is proposed in this article, i.e., a certain bio-function can be realized for a metal implant through continuous release of a designed bio-functional metal element from surface of the metal implant in the body environment. This creative idea has been verified to be possible by several different in vitro and in vivo experimental evidences on the Cu-bearing stainless steels and magnesium based metals. It was indicated that a trace amount of Cu release from the Cu-bearing steels could have obvious bio-functions of reduction of the in-stent restenosis (ISR), anti-bacterial infection, inhibiting the inflammatory cells and even promoting the early osteogenesis. Furthermore, the degradation of magnesium based metals in bones could promote the new bone formation, enhance the bone mineral density for the osteoporosis modeled animal, and even have strong anti-bacterial ability and strong cytotoxicity to bone tumor cells due to the enhancement of pH. Special bio-function with satisfied load-bearing capacity for metallic biomaterials will bring higher application values for the implant made of this novel material. This is an attractive direction for research and development with many challenges, but the final success will be much beneficial to the majority of patients.