Corrosion and cell culture evaluations of nickel‐chromium dental casting alloys

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Abstract
In this study, the corrosion and surface properties of four commercially available nickel-chromium dental casting alloys, were evaluated using electrochemical corrosion testing and Auger electron microscopy. The corrosion tests were conducted under cell culture conditions of 5% CO2 humidified atmosphere at 37°C in minimum essential medium (MEM) balanced salt solution, 95% MEM–5% FBS (fetal bovine serum) cell culture media, and in 95% MEM–5% FBS media after cold solution sterilization of test samples. The results of the surface and corrosion analyses were correlated to cytotoxicity and metal ion release from the alloys using agarose overlay and direct contact cell culture tests. The surface and electrochemical corrosion analyses demonstrated that the non-beryllium containing alloys were more resistant to accelerated corrosion processes as compared to the beryllium-containing alloys. All alloys demonstrated decreased corrosion rates in cell culture solutions after cold solution sterilization treatment. The corrosion products released from the nickel-based alloys failed to alter the cellular morphology and viability of human gingival fibroblasts, however they did cause reductions in cellular proliferation. The potential for accelerated corrosion and the exposure of local and systemic tissues to elevated levels of corrosion products raises concerns over the biocompatibility of these alloys. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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