The main components (Ti, V, Cr, Co, Ni, and Mo) of metallic alloys currently used in hip and knee articular prostheses have
been simultaneously determined in human whole blood and urine of implanted people by a (HR)-ICP–MS method previously developed
in our laboratory. The determination of those elements has been carried out in patients with knee and hip prosthesis and in
a group of pre-operation patients without any metallic device in their bodies, used as controls, demonstrating the usefulness
of this technique to perform multielement analysis at ppt levels in complex matrices. The concentrations of V, Cr, Co, Ni,
and Mo in urine and blood of implanted people turned out to be very similar to those obtained in control patients. However,
raised Ti levels could be found both in urine and blood of patients with articular prostheses made or coated with a titanium
alloy (Ti
6Al
4V).
Keywords HR-ICP–MS - Metals release - Hip and knee articular prosthesis - Blood and urine samples