Evaluation of in vitro biocompatibility of open cell iron structures with PEG coating

Abstract

Biodegradable materials have attracted a great attention in material engineering and medical community in the last decade. In certain cases, degradable implants may overcome the disadvantages of permanent devices. Any biodegradable material for medical use should support the healing process of a diseased tissue or organ and after that degrade slowly in the human body. In orthopaedic applications, biodegradable implants should allow a gradual load transfer to the healing bone as the materials degrade. Iron and iron based alloys have been identified as appropriate materials for the temporary replacement of bones, since they combine high strength at medium corrosion rates. The main goal of this work is evaluation of the in vitro biocompatibility of open cell iron foams with polyethylene glycol (PEG) coating layer for bone repair applications. Based on results of in vitro cytotoxicity studies it was found that the coating of sintered cellular iron samples with PEG layer led to a desired improvement of biocompatibility.