Assessment of biodegradability and biocompatibility: An experimental and comparative analysis of magnesium and magnesium-(zinc-tin)/hydroxyapatite composites

Abstract

This study presents the fabrication and comparative assessment of biodegradation and biocompatibility behaviors of pure Mg, Mg/HA (Hydroxyapatite), Mg-Zn/HA, and Mg-Sn/HA composites with fixed 5 wt% HA and 1 wt% each of Zn and Sn, using novel ultrasonic-assisted rheo casting technology. Characterization techniques, including X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy integrated with energy dispersive spectroscopy, were employed to analyze phase formation, surface morphology, and elemental composition. Microhardness tests were conducted to assess indentation resistance, while in vitro corrosion performance was evaluated in simulated bodily fluid to compare degradation behavior. Results indicate a uniform distribution of reinforced particles within the matrix with minimal casting defects. Intermetallic phases MgZn and Mg₂Sn precipitated along grain boundaries in Mg-Zn/HA and Mg-Sn/HA composites. The Mg-Sn/HA composite exhibited peak microhardness (94.8 HV) due to precipitation strengthening. In contrast, Mg-Zn/HA samples showed a low degradation rate (0.19 mm/yr) and H₂ gas evolution rate (0.035 ml/mm²), attributed to uniform distribution of secondary phases and fine grains that mitigate galvanic cell formation and control degradation. Cell viability assay results demonstrated that Mg-Zn/HA composite outperformed all other samples, showing a 94% relative cell growth rate of osteosarcoma MG-63 cells after 2 h of incubation, attributed to strong apatite formation (rich in Ca and P) on the surface post-immersion, promoting cell proliferation.

Keywords

Magnesium casting hydroxyapatite biodegradability corrosion cell viability

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Staiger

Pietak

Huadmai

, et al. Magnesium and its alloys as orthopedic biomaterials: a review. Biomaterials 2006; 27: 1728–1734.

Rosalbino

De Negri

Saccone

, et al. Bio-corrosion characterization of Mg–Zn–X (X = Ca, Mn, Si) alloys for biomedical applications. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 2010; 21: 1091–1098.

Cui

Cheng

, et al. Effect of nano-HA content on the mechanical properties, degradation and biocompatible behavior of mg-zn/HA composite prepared by spark plasma sintering. Mater Charact 2019; 151: 620–631.

Tayebi

Bizari

Hassanzade

. Investigation of mechanical properties and biocorrosion behavior of in situ and ex situ mg composite for orthopedic implants. Mater Sci Eng C 2020; 113: 110974.

Ghayad

Maamoun

Metwally

, et al. Corrosion behavior and surface modification of Mg-Zn implant alloys. J of Materi Eng and Perform 2016; 25: 4171–4180.

Vignesh

Ramanathan

Ashokkumar

, et al. Microstructure, mechanical, and electrochemical corrosion performance of Ti/HA (ydroxyapatite) particles reinforced Mg-3Zn squeeze casted composites. Inter Metalcast. Epub ahead of print 4 August 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40962-023-01114-6.

Dutta

Gupta

Roy

. Recent developments in magnesium metal–matrix composites for biomedical applications: a review. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2020; 6: 4748–4773.

Radha

Sreekanth

. Insight of magnesium alloys and composites for orthopedic implant applications – a review. J Magnes Alloys 2017; 5: 286–312.

Bommala

Krishna

Rao

. Magnesium matrix composites for biomedical applications: a review. J Magnes Alloys 2019; 7: 72–79.

10.

Tsakiris

Tardei

Clicinschi

. Biodegradable Mg alloys for orthopedic implants – A review. J Magnes Alloys 2021; 9: 1884–1905.

11.

Chen

Yang

, et al. In vitro corrosion resistance and cytocompatibility of nano-hydroxyapatite reinforced Mg–Zn–Zr composites. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 2010; 21: 1321–1328.

12.

Radha

Sreekanth

. Mechanical and corrosion behaviour of hydroxyapatite reinforced Mg-Sn alloy composite by squeeze casting for biomedical applications. J Magnes Alloys 2020; 8: 452–460.

13.

Huan

Leeflang

Zhou

, et al. In vitro degradation behavior and cytocompatibility of Mg–Zn–Zr alloys. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 2010; 21: 2623–2635.

14.

Mohamed

El-Aziz

Breitinger

H-G

. Study of the degradation behavior and the biocompatibility of Mg–0.8Ca alloy for orthopedic implant applications. J Magnes Alloys 2019; 7: 249–257.

15.

Kottuparambil

Bontha

Rangarasaiah

, et al. Effect of zinc and rare-earth element addition on mechanical, corrosion, and biological properties of magnesium. J Mater Res 2018; 33: 3466–3478.

16.

Saha

Roy

Datta

, et al. Effects of grain refinement on the biocorrosion and in vitro bioactivity of magnesium. Mater Sci Eng C 2015; 57: 294–303.

17.

Salleh

Zuhailawati

Mohd Noor

SNF

, et al. In vitro biodegradation and mechanical properties of Mg-Zn alloy and Mg-Zn-hydroxyapatite composite produced by mechanical alloying for potential application in bone repair. Metall Mater Trans A 2018; 49: 5888–5903.

18.

Jiang

. In vitro degradation behavior, mechanical properties, and cytocompatibility of biodegradable Mg-1Zn-xSn alloys. Crystals (Basel) 2022; 12: 1219.

19.

Zhao

Wang

Weiyang

, et al. A novel biodegradable Mg-1Zn-0.5Sn alloy: mechanical properties, corrosion behavior, biocompatibility, and antibacterial activity. J Magnes Alloys 2020; 8: 374–386.

20.

Khalajabadi

Abdul Kadir

Izman

, et al. Fabrication, bio-corrosion behavior and mechanical properties of a Mg/HA/MgO nanocomposite for biomedical applications. Mater Des 2015; 88: 1223–1233.

21.

Jaiswal

Kumar

Gupta

, et al. Mechanical, corrosion and biocompatibility behaviour of Mg-3Zn-HA biodegradable composites for orthopaedic fixture accessories. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 2018; 78: 442–454.

22.

Vidal

Alves

, et al. Fabrication of a biodegradable and cytocompatible magnesium/nanohydroxyapatite/fluorapatite composite by upward friction stir processing for biomedical applications. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 2022; 129: 105137.

23.

Bansal

Gautam

Misra

, et al. Tribological behavior of silver-doped eggshell-derived hydroxyapatite reinforcement in PMMA-based composite. Proc Ins Mech Eng, Part L: J Mater Des Appl 2024: 14644207241240623.

24.

Huang

Liu

Anguilano

, et al. Fabrication and characterization of a biodegradable mg–2Zn–0.5Ca/1β-TCP composite. Mater Sci Eng C 2015; 54: 120–132.

25.

Guo

Qiao

, et al. Preparation of medical Mg–Zn alloys and the effect of different zinc contents on the alloy. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 2022; 33: 9.

26.

Arunkumar

Selvakumaran

Subbiah

, et al. Development of high-performance aluminium 6061/SiC nanocomposites by ultrasonic aided rheo-squeeze casting method. Ultrason Sonochem 2021; 76: 105631.

27.

Vignesh

Ramanathan

Ashokkumar

. Evaluation of the wear performance of novel Titanium/hydroxyapatite-reinforced Mg–3Zn hybrid composites fabricated by squeeze casting. J Bio Tribo Corros 2023; 9: 38.

28.

Liu

Jamali

, et al. Fabrication of biodegradable HA/Mg-Zn-Ca composites and the impact of heterogeneous microstructure on mechanical properties, in vitro degradation and cytocompatibility. Bioelectrochemistry 2019; 129: 106–115.

29.

Min

Debao

Runfang

, et al. Microstructure and properties of Mg-3Zn-0.2Ca alloy for biomedical application. Rare Met Mater Eng 2018; 47: 93–98.

30.

Razzaghi

Kasiri-Asgarani

Bakhsheshi-Rad

, et al. In vitro degradation, antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity of Mg-3Zn-xAg nanocomposites synthesized by mechanical alloying for implant applications. J of Materi Eng and Perform 2019; 28: 1441–1455.

31.

Ahmadkhaniha

Fedel

Heydarzadeh Sohi

, et al. Corrosion behavior of magnesium and magnesium–hydroxyapatite composite fabricated by friction stir processing in Dulbecco’s phosphate buffered saline. Corros Sci 2016; 104: 319–329.

32.

Rajendran

Dondapati

. Insights of microstructural features and their effect on degradation and the in vitro bioactivity response of as-cast Mg-Sn alloys for orthopedic implant applications. Materials (Basel) 2022; 15: 6327.

33.

Jiang

Wang

Zhao

, et al. Effect of sn addition on the mechanical properties and bio-corrosion behavior of cytocompatible Mg–4Zn based alloys. J Magnes Alloys 2019; 7: 15–26.