Influence of Cu Element on Degradation Rate and Biological Properties of Mg-Al-Cu Alloy Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering

Abstract

The aim of this study was to fabricate the Mg-1Al-Cu alloys with various amounts of Cu content (0, 0.25, 0.5 and 1 wt.%) using spark plasma sintering (SPS) approach and evaluation of their degradation rate and biological properties. The results indicated that Cu incorporation (0.25 wt.%) significantly diminish degradation rate from 0.039 cm/h in pure Mg to 0.00584 cm/h in Mg-1Al-0.25Cu alloy. In addition, Mg-1Al-0.25Cu alloy could noticeably (1.25 times) promote viability of MG63 cells compared to pure Mg, owing to the optimized ion release. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of Mg-1Al-0.25Cu was considerable. In summary, Mg-1Al-0.25Cu alloy with appropriate degradation rate, good biocompatibility and antibacterial properties can be introduced as a biodegradable orthopedic implant.

Keywords

• magnesium alloy
• degradation rate
• cytotoxicity
• antibacterial properties.