Biodegradable porous FeMn(–xAg) alloys: assessment of cytocompatibility, mechanical, magnetic and antibiofilm properties

In this work, porous FeMn(-xAg) alloys are fabricated through powder metallurgy methods. The effects of porosity and Ag addition on the microstructure, biodegradability, magnetic and mechanical properties of the alloys are investigated. Studies on the cytocompatibility, inflammatory cytokine response and antibacterial effect are also conducted. The fabricated alloys exhibit a macro- and nanoporous structure, with uniformly distributed silver particles. The biodegradability tests reveal that the release of Mn to the Hank's solution is higher than that of Fe, without significant differences between the alloys. The degradation products consist mainly of Fe, Mn, O and compounds enriched in Ca, P and Cl. As-sintered alloys show a low saturation magnetization value (below 1 emu g(-1)), which does not increase significantly with immersion time. The results on biocompatibility indicate that all tested alloys are non-cytotoxic, but the addition of Ag might interfere with cell proliferation. However, the ions released by the FeMn(-xAg) alloys do not induce an inflammatory response in macrophages. The obtained results on microbiological interactions reveal that although no significant bactericidal effect is observed at 4 h between FeMn control and FeMn-5Ag, a significant reduction in the total biofilm biomass of both live and dead bacteria is observed after 24 h in Ag containing FeMn-5Ag surfaces.