:Scientists at the department of metallurgical engineering at Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University) have succeeded in producing nickel-free surgical grade stainless steel
: Scientists at the department of metallurgical engineering at Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University) have succeeded in producing nickel-free surgical grade stainless steel. This metal is cheaper and much safer than stainless steel that contains titanium, cobalt-chromium and ‘nickel’ and was being used in organ transplantation in the human body.
“The common side effects of nickel are fatigue, swelling and skin allergy. In some circumstances, there may also be a risk of developing lung, heart and kidney disease. Due to rusting of metal inside the body, ‘nickel’ also starts coming out along with various elements. Its dissolving capacity can be as high as 20 milligrams per kilogram, which is very dangerous. Keeping all these things in mind, it became necessary to invent a cheap and effective metal in which nickel is negligible and it does not have any side effects in the body, said Dr Girija Shankar Mahobia, associate professor, metallurgical engineering.
Lighter in weight, double in strength
“It does not stick to magnets. The strength of the new metal is twice that of the metal currently in use, which will reduce the weight of the equipment by half. Due to its adaptability to the body, it can also be used to make heart related devices like stents, pacemakers, valves etc. The new metal has absolutely no impurities, due to which its anti-fatigue properties are very good,” said Dr Girija Shankar adding that the above works were another step of IIT (BHU) towards Aatm-Nirbhar Bharat. A patent has been filed for this in April 2020, he said.
Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others