In recent decades, several novel Ti alloys have been developed in order to produce improved alternatives to the conventional alloys used in the biomedical industry such as commercially pure titanium or dual phase (alpha and beta) Ti alloys. Gum Metal with the non-toxic composition Ti–36Nb–2Ta–3Zr–0.3O (wt. %) is a relatively new alloy which belongs to the group of metastable beta Ti alloys. In this work, Gum Metal has been assessed in terms of its mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and cell culture response. The performance of Gum Metal was contrasted with that of Ti–6Al–4V ELI (extra-low interstitial) which is commonly used as a material for implants. The advantageous mechanical characteristics of Gum Metal, e.g. a relatively low Young's modulus (below 70 GPa), high strength (over 1000 MPa) and a large range of reversible deformation, that are important in the context of potential implant applications, were confirmed. Moreover, the results of short- and long-term electrochemical characterization of Gum Metal showed high corrosion resistance in Ringer's solution with varied pH. The corrosion resistance of Gum Metal was best in a weak acid environment. Potentiodynamic polarization studies revealed that Gum Metal is significantly less susceptible to pitting corrosion compared to Ti–6Al–4V ELI. The oxide layer on the Gum Metal surface was stable up to 8.5 V. Prior to cell culture, the surface conditions of the samples, such as nanohardness, roughness and chemical composition, were analyzed. Evaluation of the in vitro biocompatibility of the alloys was performed by cell attachment and spreading analysis after incubation for 48 h. Increased in vitro MC3T3-E1 osteoblast viability and proliferation on the Gum Metal samples was observed. Gum Metal presented excellent properties making it a suitable candidate for biomedical applications.

近几十年来，已经开发了几种新颖的Ti合金，以生产用于生物医学工业的常规合金（例如商业纯钛或双相（α和β）Ti合金）的改进替代品。具有无毒成分Ti–36Nb–2Ta–3Zr–0.3O（wt。％）的口香糖金属是一种相对较新的合金，属于亚稳态βTi合金。在这项工作中，对口香糖金属的机械性能，耐腐蚀性和细胞培养反应进行了评估。口香糖的性能与通常用作植入物的Ti-6Al-4V ELI（超低间隙）的性能形成对比。口香糖金属的有利机械特性，例如相对较低的杨氏模量（低于70 GPa），高强度（超过1000 MPa）和大范围的可逆变形，证实了在潜在的植入物应用中非常重要的功能。此外，口香糖金属的短期和长期电化学表征结果表明，在pH值不同的林格氏溶液中，其具有较高的耐腐蚀性。在弱酸性环境中，口香糖金属的耐腐蚀性最佳。电位动力学极化研究表明，与Ti-6Al-4V ELI相比，口香糖金属不易发生点蚀。口香糖金属表面上的氧化物层在高达8.5 V的电压下稳定。在细胞培养之前，分析样品的表面条件，例如纳米硬度，粗糙度和化学成分。孵育48小时后，通过细胞附着和铺展分析对合金的体外生物相容性进行评估。观察到口香糖金属样品上体外MC3T3-E1成骨细胞的活力和增殖增加。口香糖金属具有出色的性能，使其非常适合生物医学应用。