Nanostructured bioresorbable Mg alloys for medical applications

Abstract

Magnesium and magnesium alloys are widely used as biodegradable materials for temporary implants. The difficulty is the fact that Mg materials possess rather weak mechanical properties and dissolves very quickly in the high chloride environment of the physiological system, weakening the mechanical integrity before the bone is fully restored.  In this study we have demonstrated that processing by severe plastic deformation, can improve strength properties in the magnesium alloy Mg-Zn-Ca due to formation of ultra-fine grained (UFG) structure and uniformly distributed finedispersed particles. It was shown that a simultaneous increase of the polarization resistance and the alloy microhardness can be achieved after HPT followed by annealing at 250 °C compared to coarse grained cast alloy. Therefore, these treatment conditions can be considered as promising for development of bioresorbable Mg alloy implants.