Biocompatibility of Nitinol

This review links together recent information on the biocompatibility of Nitinol. Fundamental aspects of biological responses to Nitinol and its alloy components are clarified. The clinical advantages of using this functional biomaterial are evident. Although most studies support the good biocompatibility of Nitinol, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. The long-term in vivo performance of this material has not been well demonstrated, and host-Nitinol interactions at cell and molecular level are mostly unknown. However, the experimental and clinical data strongly support Nitinol as a safe biomaterial, at least as good as stainless steel or titanium alloys.