The effect of albumin and fibrinogen on the corrosion and metal release from a biomedical CoCrMo alloy

Corrosion and metal release mechanisms of CoCrMo alloys are at human biological conditions not fully understood. The main objective of this master thesis was to investigate whether the Vroman effect influences the extent of metal release from CoCrMo alloy in mixed protein solutions. The project focuses on the corrosion properties and release of cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr) and molybdenum (Mo) from a CoCrMo alloy into simulated physiological solutions of pH 7.2-7.4 in the presence of proteins. The metal release study was performed in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) for 4 and 24 h at 37 °C with and without different concentration of proteins (bovine serum albumin-BSA and fibrinogen-Fbn from bovine plasma). In order to investigate whether any Vroman effect could affect the extent of released metals in solutions, sequential tests were performed by sampling after 1, 4, 6 and 24 h in solutions that were partially replenished after 5 h. Significant metal-induced protein aggregation and precipitation were observed in solutions of physiologically-relevant protein concentrations (40 g/L BSA and 2.67 g/L Fbn). Cr was strongly enriched in the surface oxide of CoCrMo after exposure in all solutions. This was for all solutions accompanied by metal release processes dominated by Co. Based on electrochemical investigations, the electrochemical activity did not increase, but rather decreased, in protein-containing solutions as compared to PBS alone. This could possibly be explained by blocking of cathodic areas as a result of protein adsorption.