Research on a Zn-Cu alloy as a biodegradable material for potential vascular stents application.
Zn-based alloys have been viewed as new potential materials for biodegradable implants, such as cardiovascular stents, mainly in consideration of their lower corrosion rate when compared with that of Mg alloys. In this study we developed a new Zinc-4wt.%Copper (Zn-4Cu) alloy as a biodegradable material. Hot extrusion was applied to Zn-4Cu to refine the microstructure and consequently improve its mechanical properties and corrosion resistance. After extrusion, dendritic CuZn5 phases were broken and distributed along the extrusion direction. The grains were refined obviously due to dynamical recrystallization. The yield strength (YS), ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation of the as-extruded alloy are 250±10MPa, 270±10MPa and 51±2%, respectively. The corrosion rate of the as-extruded alloy in Hank's solution is about 9.41(±1.34)μmyear(-1). In vitro evaluation shows that Zn-4Cu presents acceptable toxicity to human endothelial cells, and could effectively inhibit bacteria adhesion and biofilm formation. The present study indicates that the as-extruded Zn-4Cu alloy exhibits excellent strength and ductility, uniform and slow degradation, good biocompatibility and significant antibacterial effect, which make it an excellent candidate material for biodegradable implants, especially for cardiovascular stents application.
National Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composite, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China.
Jialin
J
Niu
National Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composite, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China.
Zibo
Z
Tang
National Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composite, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China. Electronic address: huangh@sjtu.edu.cn.
Hua
H
Huang
National Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composite, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China.
Jia
J
Pei
National Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composite, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China.
Hua
H
Zhang
National Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composite, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China. Electronic address: gyyuan@sjtu.edu.cn.
Guangyin
G
Yuan
National Engineering Research Center of Light Alloy Net Forming and State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composite, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China.
Wenjiang
W
Ding
D020341:Absorbable Implants; D000497:Alloys / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D003343:Corrosion; D006801:Humans; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000502:physiology; D015607:Stents; D013718:Tensile Strength; D015032:Zinc / Q000737:chemistry*
D000497:Alloys; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D003300:Copper; D015032:Zinc
Antibacterial effect; Biodegradable Zn-based alloy; Biodegradation behavior; Cytotoxicity; Mechanical properties