Application of stripping voltammetry and microelectrodes in vitro biocompatibility and in vivo toxicity tests of AISI 316L corrosion products

Summary tive stripping voltammetric procedures, using mercury film microelectrodes, were optimised and applied to quantify total iron, chromium and nickel in samples of osteoblast-like cells culture medium and mice organs (liver, kidney and spleen) obtained from, respectively, in vitro and in vivo 316L stainless steel corrosion products biocompatibility and toxicity studies. The methods were based on the pre-concentration of the iron-catechol complex by adsorption at the potential of −1.80 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), of the chromium-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid complex at −1.00 V or −1.15 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and of the nickel-dimethylglyoxime complex at −0.70 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). The detection limits achieved for each metal ion (i) in the culture medium were 1.93×10−8 mol/L Fe, 2.80×10−10 mol/L Cr and 7.70×10−9 mol/L Ni for a collection time of 30 s, 40 s and 10 s, respectively, and (ii) in the mice organ solutions were 1.37×10−8 mol/L Fe, 1.54×10−8 mol/L Cr and 1.58×10−9 mol/L Ni for an adsorption time of 25 s, 25 s and 15 s, respectively. The accuracy of the proposed procedures was verified by comparison of the results obtained by adsorptive stripping voltammetry with those attained by atomic absorption spectrometry for the same set of samples and good agreement was found. The in vitro study showed that stainless steel corrosion products affect the expression of the osteogenic phenotype. The in vivo mice model, used to investigate the systemic effects provoked by the corrosion products per se, indicated that Fe, Cr and Ni are partially accumulated in the organs studied and that Ni induced the more significant morphological alterations.