Influence of Glucose on Corrosion Fatigue and Cytocompatibility of Mg–Zn–Zr–Y Alloy

Abstract

This article mainly focuses on the effects of glucose on the mechanical safety and cytotoxicity of Mg alloys used as implant materials. Under the corrosive human body fluid and dynamic loading, especially in a high‐glucose environment, Mg alloys are inevitably subjected to the decrease of mechanical properties in the process of long‐time service and eventually faced with corrosion fatigue (CF) failure. Herein, a comparative study on the dynamic mechanical properties of the Mg–Zn–Zr–Y alloy is evaluated by carrying out fatigue tests in air and in Hank's solution. CF and cytocompatibility of Mg–Zn–Zr–Y alloys response to different glucose contents (1 and 3 g L−1) are also detected. The Mg–Zn–Zr–Y alloy exhibits an excellent fatigue limit of 119.43 MPa in air compared with 47.77 MPa in Hank's solution at 37 °C. The fatigue cracks initiate at the microstructural defects in air and nucleate at corrosion pits in Hank's solution. Better corrosion resistance and enhanced CF are obtained with the increasing glucose content in Hank's solution. The in vitro tests with MC3T3‐E1 cells demonstrate that the Mg–Zn–Zr–Y alloy shows excellent cytocompatibility under high‐glucose condition.