Nuclear expertise used in dental implants
by Guy Hiscott
Former Russian and US weapons scientists have developed nanotitanium, a super metal suitable for dental implants.
The new, stronger alloy used in the dental implant allows it to bond more quickly to human bone.
Created under a three-year partnership between Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), several Russian institutes and New Mexico-based Manhattan Scientifics, the new implant material is reliable and long-lasting, and should result in faster post-surgery healing.
It is the first dental implant made with nanotitanium that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The nanotitatium implants
Nanotitanium, also known as titanium ‘on steroids’, is part of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Global Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention (GIPP) programme, which helps to advance the expertise of former weapons of mass destruction personnel in the development of civil-use technologies.
Under the programme, partners provide financial or in-kind contributions equal in value to the funds NNSA commits to each project.
Manhattan Scientifics owns the US licence to a family of patents that will enable the manufacture and marketing of super strong, ultra light-weight ‘nanostructured’ metals that have been developed.
