One of the main reasons that the vast majority of equipment in pharmaceutical engineering is made of stainless steel is because it has superior corrosion resistance. This creates a perception that stainless steel will not rust, and that once it rusts it must be a problem with the quality of the steel. In fact, this view is one-sided and wrong. Stainless steel also rusts under certain conditions, engineering the phenomenon of red rust.
In continuous research people have discovered that tantalum (Ta), a metal with excellent corrosion resistance and a high melting point, high strength and resistance to wear, is widely used as a heat-resistant material in aircraft, rockets and other industrial applications where high-strength components are required.
Why can't I use copper or iron pots to decoct my medicine?
When decocting Chinese herbal tonics, the choice of decoction vessels has always been a matter of great care. In ancient times, based on clinical experience, the unified norm was: "All decoctions should be avoided in copper and iron vessels, but silver and tile vessels are preferable. Modern knowledge also confirms that the above theory is correct.We all know that the metal chemicals in iron and copper vessels are relatively unstable, and during the decoction process at high temperatures, some such as copper ions and iron ions may actively appear, and the chain promotes many complex chemical reactions. For example, when using an iron pot to decoct Chinese herbs, it is easy to react chemically with the tannins and glycans contained in herbs such as rhubarb, he shou wu, di yu, wu bai zi, white peony, etc., resulting in the formation of an insoluble "iron tannate" and other harmful ingredients, causing the Chinese herbal soup to turn black and green, and the medicine to taste astringent and fishy. This will change the taste of the medicine and reduce its efficacy, or cause regurgitation, nausea, vomiting and other side effects.
As for the use of copper pots for decoction, the same does not work. This is because trace amounts of copper ions can easily mix with some of the ingredients of Chinese medicine and undergo chemical changes, producing a harmful "copper green".Silverware pots are stable, but expensive, and are rarely purchased by families.Most hospitals and pharmacies now use stainless steel pots to decoct herbs for patients, as it is relatively stable when exposed to high temperatures, but prolonged use can produce red rust and metal toxins that can affect the human body, and in severe cases, metal allergies may occur.
Tantalum is an industry-approved material that is resistant to corrosion, abrasion and high temperatures and can be used in a wide range of corrosive environments. Tantalum can therefore be used to prevent the corrosion of workpieces over time.
In addition, tantalum metal has good physical and mechanical properties and good biocompatibility, making it another new biomaterial after titanium, which is widely used in medical-related fields such as oral implant placement, femoral head necrosis treatment, coronary artery stent placement, artificial acetabular prosthesis implantation and surgical suture production.As a rare metal, there are not many reserves of tantalum in the earth, which directly leads to its high price. Due to the price, the application of tantalum is greatly restricted.
Baoji Yusheng Metals has been working on tantalum surface alloy technology for many years, giving equipment high performance comparable to pure tantalum-niobium products by making tantalum alloys out of the surface of common materials. The emergence of this technology has perfectly solved the problem of the cost of tantalum metal, making the civilian and widespread application of tantalum no longer a dream.
It also solves the problem of the danger to the human body caused by metal implements during the decoction of Chinese medicine.
