In vitro Study on a New High Nitrogen Nickel-free Austenitic Stainless Steel for Coronary Stents

Most commercialized coronary stents are made of 316L stainless steels due to its good combination of properties, and currently some new stents are made of cobalt-based alloy owing to its higher mechanical properties. However, the presence of high quantity of nickel and/or cobalt elements in these materials, which are known to trigger the toxic and allergic responses, has caused many concerns. Nickel-free austenitic stainless steels have been developed in order to solve these problems. In this paper, based on the development of a new Fe-Cr-Mn-Mo-N type high nitrogen nickel-free austenitic stainless steel, properties such as mechanical property, corrosion resistance in Hank's solution, and in vitro blood compatibility including the kinetic clotting time and the platelets adhesion, were investigated in comparison to the above two conventional materials, a 316L stainless steel and a Co-28Cr-6Mo alloy. The results showed that the new high nitrogen steel possessed better combination of mechanical properties, corrosion resistance and blood compatibility than those of 316L steel and the Co-28Cr-6Mo alloy, and can be a promising alternative material for manufacture of coronary stents.