In vitro Degradation and biocompatibility of WE43, ZK60, and AZ91 Biodegradable Magnesium Alloys

Successful application of magnesium alloys as degradable load-bearing implants is determined by their biological performance especially degradation and corrosion behavior in the human body. Three magnesium alloys, namely WE43, ZK60, and AZ91 are investigated in this work. The in vitro degradation behavior, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity are evaluated by corrosion tests, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and micronuclei tests, respectively. Immersion tests indicate that the ZK60 alloy has the best corrosion resistance and lowest corrosion rate in flank's solution, followed by AZ91 alloy and WE43 alloy in that order. The MTT results obtained from the three magnesium alloys after 7 days of immersion indicate good cellular viability. However, excessively high aluminum and magnesium concentrations have a negative influence on the genetic stability.