Development of a novel Ti-Nb-Au superelastic alloy with exceptionally low elastic modulus

Infection is the leading cause of biomedical implant failure, making the incorporation of antibacterial elements highly desirable. However, new alloys must also possess a low elastic modulus, to prevent stress shielding and bone resorption. Achieving this is challenging, with current alloys containing antibacterial elements being too stiff. Here, we report a novel Ti-Nb-Au alloy that contains appreciable concentrations of an antibacterial element, is free from the deleterious omega phase, has an exceptionally low elastic modulus (38.4 GPa) and high strain recoverability. These results indicate that the Ti-Nb-Au system has promise for biomedical applications, warranting further investigation and development.