Comparison of SBF and DMEM in terms of electrochemical properties of common metallic biomaterials

Corrosion behavior is an important parameter for metallic biomaterials used in the body environment. To mimic bodily fluids, simulated body fluid (SBF) has been used extensively. Even though many studies focus on corrosion inside SBF, SBF has a very time consuming and delicate preparation procedure and contains no essential and organic components for the cell environment, which may affect corrosion kinetics. We aimed to investigate whether corrosion behavior or kinetics change in different solutions, SBF and Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM). For this purpose, five commonly used metallic biomaterials, AISI 316 stainless steel, CoCrMo alloy, CP-Ti, Ti6Al4V, and Ti6Al7Nb were subjected to open circuit measurements, cyclic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Quantitative analyses were performed and surface topography was investigated via scanning electron microscope and a roughness tester. We observed that the materials exhibited similar behaviors in SBF and DMEM but the corrosion kinetics were somewhat different and the results obtained from DMEM were time dependent. © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim