Human body-fluid-assisted fracture of zinc alloys as biodegradable temporary implants: Challenges, research needs and way forward

R. K. Singh Raman, Cuie Wen, Jörg F. Löffler

Research output: Contribution to journalReview ArticleResearchpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Alloys of magnesium, zinc or iron that do not contain toxic elements are attractive as construction material for biodegradable implants, i.e., the type of implants that harmlessly dissolve away within the human body after they have completed their intended task. The synergistic influence of mechanical stress and corrosive human body fluid can cause sudden and catastrophic fracture of bioimplants due to phenomena such as stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and corrosion fatigue (CF). To date, SCC and CF of implants based on Zn have scarcely been investigated. This article is an overview of the challenges, research needs and way forward in understanding human body-fluid-assisted fractures (i.e., SCC and CF) of Zn alloys in human body fluid.

Original languageEnglish
Article number4984
Number of pages15
JournalMaterials
Volume16
Issue number14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2023

Keywords

  • biodegradable implants
  • corrosion fatigue
  • human body fluid
  • iron alloys
  • magnesium alloys
  • stress corrosion cracking
  • zinc alloys

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