What is it about?
Magnesium (Mg) alloys are being considered for use in novel, temporary medical applications. These include implants such as orthopaedic screws or cardiovascular stents. In order to be safely used in these applications, the degradation (ie corrosion) of these alloys has to be slow and controlled. We've determined which sterilization techniques can be safely employed on Mg alloys, without harming their corrosion properties.
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Why is it important?
Safe sterilization is essential for any and all medical implants. However, sterilization techniques can often be quite harsh and negatively impact certain material properties. Selecting the right technique for the implant material will ensure the implant can do its job reliability and safely, with minimal risk of infection. For Mg implants the critical material property is corrosion resistance. By identifying which sterilization techniques don't negatively influence the corrosion properties of these novel materials we can better safeguard the success of the implant, and the health of the patient.
Perspectives
I hope this article provides a brief insight into this new and dynamic area of biomaterials. Biodegradable metals (such as magnesium) are an emerging discipline in medical materials, and as such provide a range of new opportunities and challenges.
Sean Johnston
University of Queensland
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The influence of two common sterilization techniques on the corrosion of Mg and its alloys for biomedical applications, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B Applied Biomaterials, September 2017, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/jbm.b.34004.
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