Recent developments of metallic implants for biomedical applications

Medical implants have undoubtedly made an indelible mark on our world during the last century. More than 100 million humans carry at least one major internal medical device. The prosthesis industry has topped 50 billion US$ in annual sales, with approximately 150 universities throughout the world proposing an undergraduate program in bioengineering or biomedical engineering. Despite that, however, most medical devices have been constructed using a significantly restricted number of conventional metallic, ceramic, polymeric, and composite biomaterials. In this study, recent developments of metallic implants are summarized for biomedical applications. To do this, first desired properties for biomaterials are defined. Then, types of metallic biomaterials are classified as stainless steel, Mg, Co, Ti, nobble and biodegradable ones. After that, surface modifications are defined for corrugation, topographies and chemical modification. Finally, future perspective is outlined for the sake of development new materials as well as production point of view.