Corrosion Protection and Surface Treatment of Magnesium Alloys Used for Orthopedic Applications

Nabil Nassif,Ibrahim Ghayad

doi:10.1155/2013/532896

Abstract

An overview is reported about the history of prevailing magnesium alloys as orthopedic biodegradable materials. Important features of the effect of alloying additions, along with surface treatments for corrosion protection of magnesium alloys, are described. Hydroxyapatite (HA), the promising coat deposited by different direct and electrochemical methods to tailor corrosion resistance and biocompatibility, is discussed. Surface modifications, such as microarc oxidation or anodization which lead to nanostructures fabricated to provide better adhesion for HA coatings, are presented.

Highlights

Metallic materials continue to play an essential role as biomaterials to assist with the repair or replacement of bone tissue that has become diseased or damaged [1]
A limitation of these current metallic biomaterials is the possible release of toxic metallic ions and/or particles through corrosion or wear processes [2,3,4,5,6] that lead to inflammatory cascades which reduce biocompatibility and cause tissue loss [2, 4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]
Current metallic biomaterials are essentially neutral in vivo, remaining as permanent fixtures, which in the case of plates, screws, and pins used to secure serious fractures must be removed by a second surgical procedure after the tissue has healed sufficiently [15]

Summary

Introduction

Metallic materials continue to play an essential role as biomaterials to assist with the repair or replacement of bone tissue that has become diseased or damaged [1]. A limitation of these current metallic biomaterials is the possible release of toxic metallic ions and/or particles through corrosion or wear processes [2,3,4,5,6] that lead to inflammatory cascades which reduce biocompatibility and cause tissue loss [2, 4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. Current metallic biomaterials are essentially neutral in vivo, remaining as permanent fixtures, which in the case of plates, screws, and pins used to secure serious fractures must be removed by a second surgical procedure after the tissue has healed sufficiently [15]. Repeat surgery increases costs to the health care system and further morbidity to the patient

Magnesium Alloys as a Biodegradable

Corrosion Protection of Mg Alloys

Findings

Concluding Remarks