Prosthetic metals have a variable necrotic threshold in human fibroblasts: an in vitro study.

The generation of metal particles from prosthetic joints has been an evolving problem in orthopedics. Numerous factors have been involved including cells, metals, and responding cytokines, but determining roles of these factors or cascades of factors has been elusive. This laboratory has published threshold levels for commercially pure titanium (CpTi), which led to cell necrosis, but noted that cell viability differed among donor patients.