Challenges and progress in understanding and controlling Mg corrosion in biomedical applications

摘要

In recent years, the interest of using Mg alloys in biodegradable biomedical devices has found tremendously increasing research interest. For successful applications, detailed knowledge on the corrosion rate and mode in the biomedical application is of course required. Moreover, complex interactions between the corroding Mg surfaces and the biological environment need to be studied in detail but have not yet been fully elucidated. The challenges for successful applications are probably greater than expected, as in spite of the non-toxic nature of Mg ions, the side effects of Mg dissolution such as H_2 gas evolution or alkalization are of concern in view of the biocompatibility. In addition, the control of the corrosion rate - either by alloying or surface modification - needs to be optimized. Another challenge in Mg alloy corrosion is the often highly non-uniform corrosion morphology.