Effect of nutrient-based alloying elements on biodegradable magnesium alloys: Evolution, challenges, and strategies for orthopaedic applications

In recent years, magnesium (Mg) alloys have become increasingly popular in orthopaedic applications as biomaterials. Unlike traditional implants such as cobalt-chrome, stainless steel, and titanium alloys, Mg alloys offer notable advantages, including outstanding biodegradability and biocompatibilit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pradeep Raja C, Karthik Babu N B, N S Balaji, A Saikiran, Rajesh Kannan A
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Biomedical Engineering Advances
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667099225000179
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849691803253473280
author Pradeep Raja C
Karthik Babu N B
N S Balaji
A Saikiran
Rajesh Kannan A
author_facet Pradeep Raja C
Karthik Babu N B
N S Balaji
A Saikiran
Rajesh Kannan A
author_sort Pradeep Raja C
collection DOAJ
description In recent years, magnesium (Mg) alloys have become increasingly popular in orthopaedic applications as biomaterials. Unlike traditional implants such as cobalt-chrome, stainless steel, and titanium alloys, Mg alloys offer notable advantages, including outstanding biodegradability and biocompatibility. This characteristic eliminates the need for a second surgery after the bone healing process, a distinct advantage for patients. Additionally, Mg alloys address the issue of stress shielding, a common problem with other materials. Despite facilitating the osteoconductive process, their rapid degradation in physiological conditions poses a challenge, compromising mechanical strength and hindering bone tissue recovery. This degradation leads to tissue alkalization and the formation of hydrogen bubbles, hindering the recovery rate of bone tissues and limiting the applications of Mg alloys. And the rapid degradation of magnesium alloys in physiological conditions accelerates corrosion and compromises mechanical integrity, affecting their load-bearing capacity. Enhancing structural integrity is essential to ensure sufficient strength during bone healing, aligning the degradation rate with the physiological process. To reduce the fast degradation rate, extensive research has been conducted in mechanical and corrosion-based studies, focusing on altering the biomedical performance of Mg alloys through alloying elements, processing routes, and other strategies. One approach involves mixing pure magnesium with nutrient materials and reinforcing it with hydroxyapatite. These modifications aim to match the corrosion rate with the healing rate of bone tissue. This paper explores the significance of biodegradable Mg alloys, providing a comprehensive review of their evolution and development. It emphasises enhancing the mechanical and corrosion properties of Mg alloys by adjusting the percentage of alloying elements, employing specific processing strategies, and incorporating reinforcements. The discussion particularly emphasizes the impact of nutrient elements, binary and ternary alloys, as well as hydroxyapatite composites of magnesium-based alloys in physiological conditions. Furthermore, the review highlights emerging technologies like Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF), offering a general perspective on improving the mechanical and corrosion properties of Mg alloys for orthopaedic use.
format Article
id doaj-art-31ac855b6f514217a5ce0a4f0f2fac13
institution DOAJ
issn 2667-0992
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Biomedical Engineering Advances
spelling doaj-art-31ac855b6f514217a5ce0a4f0f2fac132025-08-20T03:20:55ZengElsevierBiomedical Engineering Advances2667-09922025-06-01910016110.1016/j.bea.2025.100161Effect of nutrient-based alloying elements on biodegradable magnesium alloys: Evolution, challenges, and strategies for orthopaedic applicationsPradeep Raja C0Karthik Babu N B1N S Balaji2A Saikiran3Rajesh Kannan A4School of Marine Engineering and Technology, Indian Maritime University, Kolkata, India; Corresponding author.Department of Mechanical Engineering, Assam Energy Institute, A Centre of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Sivasagar, Assam, IndiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Tiruchirappalli, IndiaSchool of Marine Engineering and Technology, Indian Maritime University, Chennai, IndiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Incheon National University, Republic of KoreaIn recent years, magnesium (Mg) alloys have become increasingly popular in orthopaedic applications as biomaterials. Unlike traditional implants such as cobalt-chrome, stainless steel, and titanium alloys, Mg alloys offer notable advantages, including outstanding biodegradability and biocompatibility. This characteristic eliminates the need for a second surgery after the bone healing process, a distinct advantage for patients. Additionally, Mg alloys address the issue of stress shielding, a common problem with other materials. Despite facilitating the osteoconductive process, their rapid degradation in physiological conditions poses a challenge, compromising mechanical strength and hindering bone tissue recovery. This degradation leads to tissue alkalization and the formation of hydrogen bubbles, hindering the recovery rate of bone tissues and limiting the applications of Mg alloys. And the rapid degradation of magnesium alloys in physiological conditions accelerates corrosion and compromises mechanical integrity, affecting their load-bearing capacity. Enhancing structural integrity is essential to ensure sufficient strength during bone healing, aligning the degradation rate with the physiological process. To reduce the fast degradation rate, extensive research has been conducted in mechanical and corrosion-based studies, focusing on altering the biomedical performance of Mg alloys through alloying elements, processing routes, and other strategies. One approach involves mixing pure magnesium with nutrient materials and reinforcing it with hydroxyapatite. These modifications aim to match the corrosion rate with the healing rate of bone tissue. This paper explores the significance of biodegradable Mg alloys, providing a comprehensive review of their evolution and development. It emphasises enhancing the mechanical and corrosion properties of Mg alloys by adjusting the percentage of alloying elements, employing specific processing strategies, and incorporating reinforcements. The discussion particularly emphasizes the impact of nutrient elements, binary and ternary alloys, as well as hydroxyapatite composites of magnesium-based alloys in physiological conditions. Furthermore, the review highlights emerging technologies like Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF), offering a general perspective on improving the mechanical and corrosion properties of Mg alloys for orthopaedic use.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667099225000179Magnesium alloySecondary phasesBiodegradable materialGrain sizesMechanical propertiesCorrosion resistance
spellingShingle Pradeep Raja C
Karthik Babu N B
N S Balaji
A Saikiran
Rajesh Kannan A
Effect of nutrient-based alloying elements on biodegradable magnesium alloys: Evolution, challenges, and strategies for orthopaedic applications
Biomedical Engineering Advances
Magnesium alloy
Secondary phases
Biodegradable material
Grain sizes
Mechanical properties
Corrosion resistance
title Effect of nutrient-based alloying elements on biodegradable magnesium alloys: Evolution, challenges, and strategies for orthopaedic applications
title_full Effect of nutrient-based alloying elements on biodegradable magnesium alloys: Evolution, challenges, and strategies for orthopaedic applications
title_fullStr Effect of nutrient-based alloying elements on biodegradable magnesium alloys: Evolution, challenges, and strategies for orthopaedic applications
title_full_unstemmed Effect of nutrient-based alloying elements on biodegradable magnesium alloys: Evolution, challenges, and strategies for orthopaedic applications
title_short Effect of nutrient-based alloying elements on biodegradable magnesium alloys: Evolution, challenges, and strategies for orthopaedic applications
title_sort effect of nutrient based alloying elements on biodegradable magnesium alloys evolution challenges and strategies for orthopaedic applications
topic Magnesium alloy
Secondary phases
Biodegradable material
Grain sizes
Mechanical properties
Corrosion resistance
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667099225000179
work_keys_str_mv AT pradeeprajac effectofnutrientbasedalloyingelementsonbiodegradablemagnesiumalloysevolutionchallengesandstrategiesfororthopaedicapplications
AT karthikbabunb effectofnutrientbasedalloyingelementsonbiodegradablemagnesiumalloysevolutionchallengesandstrategiesfororthopaedicapplications
AT nsbalaji effectofnutrientbasedalloyingelementsonbiodegradablemagnesiumalloysevolutionchallengesandstrategiesfororthopaedicapplications
AT asaikiran effectofnutrientbasedalloyingelementsonbiodegradablemagnesiumalloysevolutionchallengesandstrategiesfororthopaedicapplications
AT rajeshkannana effectofnutrientbasedalloyingelementsonbiodegradablemagnesiumalloysevolutionchallengesandstrategiesfororthopaedicapplications