Surface integrity and biofunctional performance of AISI 316L stainless steel implants: the role of mechanical surface treatments, corrosion resistance, and tribocorrosion behavior

Abstract

AISI 316L stainless steel continues to play an important role in orthopedic, dental, and surgical implants because of its favorable balance of mechanical performance, corrosion resistance, manufacturability, and cost-effectiveness. Despite its widespread clinical use, the long-term reliability of this alloy is largely governed by phenomena occurring at the surface, where mechanical loading, electrochemical degradation, wear processes, and biological interactions converge. Over the past 2 decades, mechanical surface treatments have attracted growing attention as a means of modifying the near-surface microstructure of AISI 316L without altering its bulk composition. Such treatments promote grain refinement, deformation-induced martensitic transformation, increased dislocation density, and compressive residual stresses, all of which influence degradation mechanisms and biological performance. This review critically evaluates the available evidence on how mechanically induced surface modifications affect the electrochemical, tribological, and biological performance of AISI 316L under physiological conditions. Particular emphasis is given to the relationship between surface integrity and corrosion resistance, including passive film stability, susceptibility to localized corrosion, release of metallic ions, and the variability of experimental outcomes reported for different mechanical surface treatments. Tribocorrosion is analyzed from both mechanistic and biomedical perspectives, with emphasis on the interaction between wear and electrochemical degradation, the resulting synergistic material loss, and their implications for the long-term performance of load-bearing implants. The review also examines how tribocorrosion interacts with corrosion, wear, and biological processes to influence the long-term clinical performance of load-bearing implants. Moreover, the influence of mechanically modified surfaces on protein adsorption, cellular response, osseointegration, bacterial adhesion, immune response, and osteoimmunomodulation is critically discussed. The literature included in this review was identified through a structured search strategy conducted via the CAPES Journal Portal following the PRISMA 2020 reporting framework. By integrating evidence from surface engineering, corrosion science, tribology, and biomaterials research, this review provides a critical synthesis of the mechanisms that link mechanically induced surface modifications to the electrochemical, tribological, and biological performance of AISI 316L implants. Overall, this review provides a critical synthesis of the available evidence and identifies current knowledge gaps, methodological limitations, and future research directions expected to support the development of next-generation AISI 316L biomedical implants.