US EPA

2806938 

Journal Article 

Titanium transport through the blood stream. An experimental study on rats 

Olmedo, DG; Tasat, D; Guglielmotti, MB; Cabrini, RL 

2003 

Yes 

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine
ISSN: 0957-4530
EISSN: 1573-4838 

14 

12 

1099-1103 

English 

15348503 

WOS:000186623400011 

Different metals are increasingly being used to manufacture implants, especially in the fields of dentistry and orthopedics. No metal or alloy is completely inert in vivo. The metal and the organic fluids interact releasing, for example, metallic products. Several hypotheses regarding the probable dissemination routes of titanium have been postulated, but its valence, the organic nature of its ligands and its potential toxicity have yet to be established. In a previous experimental study we demonstrated that i.p. injected titanium and zirconium oxides disseminate and deposit in organs such as liver and lung. The aim of this work was to study the eventual participation of blood cells in the transport mechanism of titanium employing the intraperitoneal injection of titanium oxide in rats as the experimental model. Twenty male Wistar rats, x: 100 g body weight, were intraperitoneally injected with 16x10(3) mg/kg b.w. of TiO(2) in saline solution. Blood samples were taken by heart puncture at 3 and 6 months; blood smears were performed and stained with safranin evidencing monocytes containing titanium particles. The results obtained in this study would indicate that one of the ways in which titanium is disseminated is through the blood stream, via blood cells.