Biodegradable ternary Zn–3Ge–0.5X (X=Cu, Mg, and Fe) alloys for orthopedic applications

Biodegradable zinc (Zn) and its alloys have great potential to be used for orthopedic applications due to their suitable degradation rate and good biocompatibility. However, pure Zn has insufficient mechanical properties, such as low strength and hardness, and poor plasticity, which limits its clinical applications. Here, we report on a new series of ternary Zn–3Ge–0.5X (X=Cu, Mg, and Fe) alloys aiming to achieve good corrosion resistance and biocompatibility, and enhanced mechanical properties via micro-alloying with copper (Cu), magnesium (Mg), and iron (Fe). Hot-rolling has also been applied to the new ternary alloys to further enhance their mechanical properties. Mechanical testing results indicate that both the strength and hardness of hot-rolled Zn–3Ge are significantly improved with micro-alloying of Cu, Mg, and Fe; of which the hot-rolled Zn–3Ge–0.5Mg exhibits the highest ultimate tensile strength of 253.4 MPa and yield strength of 208.5 MPa among all the alloys, 25.9% and 44.7% higher than those of the hot-rolled Zn–3Ge. The degradation rate of the as-cast alloys is lower than that of the hot-rolled alloys in Hanks’ solution for 1 month and the hot-rolled Zn–3Ge–0.5Mg alloy exhibits the highest degradation rate of 0.075 mm/y. CCK-8 assay using MG-63 cells indicates that the diluted extracts of Zn–3Ge–0.5X (X=Cu, Mg, and Fe) alloys with concentrations of 12.5% and 25% exhibit no or slight cytotoxicity, and the diluted extracts of Zn–3Ge–0.5Cu alloys show high cell viability of over 100%, showing the best cytocompatibility.