Journal article

In vitro evaluation of biodegradable magnesium alloys containing micro-alloying additions of strontium, with and without zinc

JL Wang, S Mukherjee, DR Nisbet, N Birbilis, XB Chen

Journal of Materials Chemistry B | Published : 2015

Abstract

The in vitro degradation of magnesium (Mg) alloys containing low levels of strontium (Sr, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2 wt%), with and without addition of zinc (Zn, 0.5 and 1.0 wt%), was studied for potential use in orthopaedics for fracture treatment. Alloying Mg with Sr was selected as a promising strategy to utilise the biological effect of Sr in inducing accelerated bone tissue growth. The influence of controlled alloying upon degradation rate was studied via electrochemical measurements and immersion tests in minimum essential medium (MEM). Immersion testing revealed a comparable degradation rate of the alloys tested herein, indicating no detrimental effect of Sr on degradation. Cytotoxicity experi..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by Australian Research Council


Funding Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the Australian Research Council (Discovery Project DP130103131) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (Career Development Fellowship APP1050684). We gratefully acknowledge Xiaojian Xia for technical assistance with sample preparation. Microscopy was carried out at the Monash Centre for Electron Microscopy. JLW is the recipient of a Monash Postgraduate Scholarship.