title: No genotoxicity of a new nickel-free stainless steel.
abstract: Stainless steel is a metallic alloy largely employed in orthopedics, maxillofacial surgery and orthodontic therapy. However, the presence in its composition of a high quantity of nickel, an agent known to trigger toxic, allergic and cancerogenous responses in humans, is cause of some concern. In this study, we have investigated the in vitro mutagenicity and genotoxicity of a new nickel-free stainless steel, namely P558, in comparison to the conventional stainless steel AISI 316L. The cytogenetic effects were evaluated by studying the frequency of Sister Chromatid Exchanges (SCE) and chromosomal aberrations. Ames test was performed to detect the mutagenic activity. Both P558 and AISI 316L did not cause any significant increase in the average number of SCE and in chromosomal aberrations, either with or without metabolic activation. Furthermore, the Ames test showed that the extracts of both P558 and of AISI 316L are not mutagenic. Overall, these findings prove that P558 is devoid of genotoxicity and mutagenicity. The present results, together with other previous interesting observations that P558 promotes osseointegration, suggest that this new nickel-free stainless steel can represent a better alternative to other conventional steel alloys.
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory on Biocompatibility of Implant Materials, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Bologna, Italy. lucio.montanaro@alma.unibo.it
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Montanaro
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cervellati
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Campoccia
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prati
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Breschi
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Arciola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D016466:CHO Cells / Q000187:drug effects; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000187:drug effects; D004396:Coloring Agents; D006224:Cricetinae; D003412:Cricetulus; D008422:Materials Testing; D009153:Mutagens; D009154:Mutation / Q000187:drug effects; D009532:Nickel; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D012854:Sister Chromatid Exchange / Q000187:drug effects; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D004396:Coloring Agents; D009153:Mutagens; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; D013193:Stainless Steel; D009532:Nickel; C022616:thiazolyl blue