Viability of Magnesium Based Composites as Temporary Implan

Abstract

Magnesium and its alloys are researched widely for their use in biodegradable temporary implant applications. However, higher rate of degradation and hydrogen gas evolution limits the use of magnesium-based materials as temporary implants. Till date, various modifications like addition of alloying elements, processing conditions, surface modification and coatings are done to overcome these drawbacks. Another way to circumvent these limitations is to add reinforcement to magnesium and its alloys. Magnesium-based composites, as biomaterials, can exhibit excellent mechanical and microstructural properties like ultimate tensile strength, ultimate compressive strength, elastic modulus, grain refinement and corrosion resistance in the physiological conditions. Accordingly, this paper targets to investigate the influence of addition of different types of reinforcements to magnesium and it alloys on their microstructural, mechanical and corrosion responses. Keywords: Magnesium; Metal matrix composites; Corrosion; Biomaterial; Temporary Implants