Functionally gradient magnesium-based composite for temporary orthopaedic implant with improved corrosion resistance and osteogenic properties

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Magnesium (Mg) is a potential alternative for conventional orthopaedic implant materials owing to its biodegradation behavior and physical characteristics similar to natural human bone. Due to its biomimetic mechanical attributes, Mg in orthopaedic applications could reduce the risk of the ‘stress shielding effect’. However, the major limitation of Mg is its high in-vivo corrosion rate. Thermal sprayed coatings of osteoconductive ceramics like hydroxyapatite (HA) have been explored as a potential solution, albeit with limited success due to the low melting point of Mg, which restricts the ease of fabricating surface-adherent ceramic coating. The present study focuses on overcoming this limitation through a Mg-HA functionally gradient material (FGM) system, which is expected to provide a highly corrosion-resistant surface and uniform mechanical integrity throughout the structure. In addition to corrosion resistance, the FGM system has improved biocompatibility and osteoconductivity without compromising its mechanical stability. The FGM, with a compositional gradient of Mg-HA composite, consisting of Mg at the core and increasing HA towards the outer layer, has been fabricated through spark plasma sintering. Mechanical properties of the overall structure were better than those of the best individual composite. More importantly, corrosion resistance of the FGM structure was significantly improved (~154%) as compared to individual composites. In addition, alkaline phosphatase activity, osteogenic gene expression and cell viability, all pertaining to efficient osteogenic differentiation, were enhanced for FGM and 15 wt% HA reinforced composites. These observations suggest that the FGM structure is promising for temporary biodegradable orthopaedic implants.