The Study of Microstructure of the MgCa Alloys in their Use in Biodegradable Orthopedic Implants

Abstract

The need for structural materials in temporary implant applications has grown in the recent years; materials that provide short – term structural support and which can be reabsorbed into the body after healing are being sought. These are materials that are biocompatible and biodegradable. These constitute a novel class of bioactive biomaterials which are expected to support the healing process of a diseased tissue and to degrade thereafter. Magnesium alloys attracted great attention as a new kind of degradable biomaterial. Mg shows great promise as a potential biocompat ible and biodegradable material in biomedical applications where it has gained the interest of researchers in the field. Biodegradable and bioabsorbable magnesium – based alloys provide a number of benefits over traditional permanent implants. There are however some disadvantages to the use of Mg alloys, one of the most critical being the release of hydrogen and alkalinization resulted from the corrosion of Mg. In connection to these drawbacks, a possible solution could be finding alloying elements which would contribute to the reduction of the corrosion rate in the human body. Studies show that a promising alloy for Mg, could be Calcium - a major component of the human bone and also an essential element in the chemical composition of cells. The present paper shall focus on the elaboration of Mg-Ca alloys, respectively Mg0,63Ca to Mg0,8 5 Ca, in the form of bars. These bars were obtained by cast in an inert atmosphere in the presence of argon, in order to be analyzed as biodegradable orthopedic implants. The structure of the alloy has been studied through SEM analyses, X-Ray diffraction, and EDAX to determine the chemical composition, as well as the distribution of elements in the structure. The main desiderate is finding an alloy which would have a minimum healing period postsurgery, pathophysiology and toxicology and a promising degradation behavior.