Synthesis of Magnesium-Based Alloys by Mechanical Alloying for Implant Applications

The biocompatibility and biodegradability of magnesium (Mg), along with its lightness, make magnesium-based materials promising for use in the biomedical industry. In this work, ternary Mg-Zn-Ca alloys were manufactured for biomedical applications using mechanical alloying (MA). The objective of this work was to study the effect of milling time on the produced ternary alloys Mg65-Zn30-Ca5 and Mg70-Zn25-Ca5 (percentages by weight), the degradation of the alloys in synthetic human fluids, and their generated cytotoxicity. The Mg-based alloys were synthesized in a planetary ball mill under an argon atmosphere using stainless-steel containers and balls with a milling regimen of 400 rpm for 2, 5, 10, 15, and 20 h. The powders obtained after MA were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), which verified that ternary Mg-Zn-Ca alloys can be obtained using MA. The XRD refinement analysis of the samples showed the presence of a MgZn intermetallic phase. Electrochemical tests showed that the corrosion resistance and corrosion current density of Mg65-Zn30-Ca5 and Mg70-Zn25-Ca5 alloys improved compared to those of pure Mg. Cytotoxicity testing was conducted using the Sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay, which revealed that the alloys did not exhibit cytotoxicity toward human fibroblast cells. Mg65-Zn30-Ca5 and Mg70-Zn25-Ca5 alloys show good potential to be used in biomedical applications.