The response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to shape memory alloys

The aim of this work was to study the response of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PB-MNCs) to Cu-Al-Ni and Ni-Ti shape memory alloys (SMAs). The alloys were prepared as rapidly solidified thin ribbons via melt spinning. It has been shown that the ribbons were non cytotoxic for PB-MNCs as determined by the viability and apoptosis assay. In 18 cultures out of 20 cultures of individual donor PB-MNCs cultivated with Cu-Al-Ni SMAs, no significant changes in the production of Th1 (IFN-γ), Th2 (IL-5 and IL-10) and proinflammatory (IL-1ß, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8) cytokines were detected compared to controls. In two cultures out of 20, a significant increase in the production of Th1 and proinflammatory cytokines was observed. Microstructural analyses confirmed the formation of thin oxide on the surface of both SMA ribbons.