Titanium, nicknamed the “space age metal,” has many sought-after properties that make it extremely useful to a variety of industries. It can be combined with other metals, like iron, aluminum, vanadium or molybdenum, to create tough lightweight alloys or it may be used by itself. The medical industry depends on titanium for many purposes, from surgical instruments and orthopedic implants to wheelchairs.
The three most useful properties of titanium in medicine are corrosion resistance, low density and strength. Some of the most corrosive agents known, like seawater and chlorine, have no caustic effect on titanium. The ability to withstand such extremely corrosive agents makes titanium useful for surgical applications since body fluids will not corrode it. Titanium is great for orthopedic uses in or outside the body because it is lightweight and strong. Titanium has the highest strength to weight ratio of any metal. Even in its unalloyed form, titanium is comparable in strength to certain steels, but about 45% of their weight.