Abstract
Magnesium-Calcium (Mg-Ca) alloy has received considerable attention as an emerging biodegradable implant material in orthopedic fixation applications. The biodegradable Mg-Ca alloys avoid stress shielding and secondary surgery inherent with permanent metallic implant materials. They also provide sufficient mechanical strength in load carrying applications as opposed to biopolymers. However, the key issue facing a biodegradable Mg-Ca implant is the fast corrosion in the human body environment. The ability to adjust degradation rate of Mg-Ca alloys is critical for the successful development of biodegradable orthopedic implants. This paper focuses on the functions and requirements of bone implants and critical issues of current implant biomaterials. Microstructures and mechanical properties of Mg-Ca alloys, and the unique properties of novel magnesium-calcium implant materials have been reviewed. Various manufacturing techniques to process Mg-Ca based alloys have been analyzed regarding their impacts on implant performance. Corrosion performance of Mg-Ca alloys processed by different manufacturing techniques was compared. In addition, the societal and economical impacts of developing biodegradable orthopedic implants have been emphasized.
Highlights
Several million people suffer bone fractures caused by accidents or diseases per year in the USA alone
This paper aims to review the works performed in last decade in processing Magnesium alloys especially Mg-Ca alloys and the achievements in controlling their corrosion performance
Dental implants are one of the few medical devices which permanently cross the boundary between the inside and the outside of the body, since the base of the implant is connected to the bone of the lower or upper jaw and the top of the implant is in the mouth, where it can be crowned with an artificial tooth
Summary
Several million people suffer bone fractures caused by accidents or diseases per year in the USA alone. $1.0 billion annually [1] had to be incurred in the national health system in 2004–2005 Many of these fractures are too complex for external medical treatment but have to be surgically fixed by internal bone implants such as the orthopedic implant. Internal loads will be mainly supported by the implants that shield tissues such as the bone from carrying the normal mechanical stresses This “stress shielding” results in a number of critical clinical issues such as early implant loosening, damage to healing process and adjacent anatomical structures, skeleton thickening, and chronic inflammation. The Achilles heel of a Mg-Ca implant is that it corrodes too fast in saline media such as in the environment of the human organism Answering these questions is critical for the development of the generation of biodegradable implants, which has significant societal and economic impacts. This paper aims to review the works performed in last decade in processing Magnesium alloys especially Mg-Ca alloys and the achievements in controlling their corrosion performance
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