Synthesis, Characterization, Corrosion Resistance and In-Vitro Bioactivity Behavior of Biodegradable Mg-Zn-Mn-(Si-HA) Composite for Orthopaedic Applications

Recently, magnesium (Mg) has gained attention as a potential material for orthopedics devices, owing to the combination of its biodegradability and similar mechanical characteristics to those of bones. However, the rapid decay rate of Mg alloy is one of the critical barriers amongst its widespread applications that have provided numerous research scopes to the scientists. In this present, porous Mg-based biodegradable structures have been fabricated through the hybridization of elemental alloying and spark plasma sintering technology. As key alloying elements, the suitable proportions of silicon (Si) and hydroxyapatite (HA) are used to enhance the mechanical, chemical, and geometrical features. It has been found that the addition of HA and Si element results in higher degree of structural porosity with low elastic modulus and hardness of the Mg-Zn-Mn matrix, respectively. Further, addition of both HA and Si elements has refined the grain structure and improved the hardness of the as-fabricated structures. Moreover, the characterization results validate the formation of various biocompatible phases, which enhances the corrosion performance and biomechanical integrity. Moreover, the fabricated composites show an excellent bioactivity and offer a channel/interface to MG-63 cells for attachment, proliferation and differentiation. The overall results of the present study advocate the usefulness of developed structures for orthopedics applications.