In recent years, research on magnesium (Mg) alloys had increased significantly for hard tissue replacement and stent application due to their outstanding advantages. Firstly, Mg alloys have mechanical properties similar to bone which avoid stress shielding. Secondly, they are biocompatible essential to the human metabolism as a factor for many enzymes. In addition, main degradation product Mg is an essential trace element for human enzymes. The most important reason is they are perfectly biodegradable in the body fluid. However, extremely high degradation rate, resulting in too rapid loss of mechanical strength in chloride containing environments limits their applications. Engineered artificial biomaterials with appropriate mechanical properties, surface chemistry, and surface topography are in a great demand. As the interaction between the cells and tissues with biomaterials at the tissue--implant interface is a surface phenomenon; surface properties play a major role in determining both the biological response to implants and the material response to the physiological condition. Therefore, the ability to modify the surface properties while preserve the bulk properties is important, and surface modification to form a hard, biocompatible and corrosion resistant modified layer have always been an interesting topic in biomaterials field. In this article, attempts are made to give an overview of the current research and development status of surface modification technologies of Mg alloys for biomedical materials research. Further, the advantages/disadvantages of the different methods and with regard to the most promising method for Mg alloys are discussed. Finally, the scientific challenges are proposed based on own research and the work of other scientists.
The titanium implant surface was sandblasted with large grits and acid etched (SLA) to increase the implant surface for osseointegration. The topography of the titanium surface was investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a profilometer. The SLA implant demonstrated uniform small micro pits (1-2 microm in diameter). The values of average roughness (R(a)) and maximum height (R(t)) were 1.19 microm and 10.53 microm respectively after sandblasting and the acid-etching treatment. In the cell-surface interaction study, the human osteoblast cells grew well in vitro. The in vivo evaluation of the SLA implant placed in rabbit tibia showed good bone-to-implant contact (BIC) with a mean value of 29% in total length of the implant. In the short-term clinical study, SLA implants demonstrated good clinical performance, maintaining good crestal bone height.
From the results of the study, it can be conjectured that the submerged and unloaded SLA-surfaced implants could result in successful osseointegration, even if the mechanical engagement was not obtained at placement of the implants.
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