Metals in medicine

Posted in The World Of Metal on 6th August 2010

In day to day life we see many differing forms and types of metals and alloys all around us. Often they pass unnoticed, the tungsten filaments in the light bulbs, the cast iron and aluminium street furniture, the stainless steel counters at the sandwich shop or the bronze statues and plaques that commemorate great works and famous people of the past.

All these metals and alloys have a story to tell, and the one that we would like to explore is that of metals in a different context to those in which we normally think of them. Their use in medicinal and medical applications can, and do require alloys as complex as any found elsewhere and are just, as the examples mentioned previously, equally taken for granted.

A simple, straightforward example of their use in medical applications and one that perhaps most of us come across the most frequently is in dental applications. The gold crown being an instantly recognisable illustration and perhaps, hot on its heals, would be the amalgam filling. The amalgam filling is a combination of silver, copper, tin and in very small quantities mercury.

Other aids to everyday life could include the simple aluminium crutch, which becomes a great friend following that twist of an ankle or slip down the stairs. More complex areas encompass those of replacement joints. Made from stainless steel and cobalt based super alloys modern research is investigating the possibilities of adding carbon nanotubes to anodized titanium to encourage cell growth and improve functionality.

Just small illustrations perhaps of how metals and alloys play such important parts in our everyday lives.

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