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US 9,039,764 B2Granted
Electrochemical coupling of metallic biomaterial implants for biological effect
AssigneeSyracuse University
InventorJeremy L. Gilbert
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention discloses a novel method of controlling the open circuit potential (OCP) of a medical implant by coupling it with small amounts of metals having a lower OCP than the implant. Coupling of Mg to less than 1% of the surface area of a titanium implant is shown to induce cathodic polarization of the titanium that inhibits cell proliferation at the surface of the implant. Mg—Ti coupling in medical devices promises to attenuate or eliminate potential complications of surgery such as peri-implantitis and bacterial infections at the site of implantation.
Claims18
A medical implant, comprising:
- a biocompatible material forming a surface for said implant;
- a metal having a cathodic electrochemical potential embedded in the biocompatible material and inducing a cathodic electrochemical potential at the surface of said implant relative to said biocompatible material in the absence of said metal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.