Cytotoxicity of Biodegradable Zinc and Its Alloys: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Zinc-based biodegradable metals (BMs) have been developed for biomedical implant materials. However, the cytotoxicity of Zn and its alloys has caused controversy. This work aims to investigate whether Zn and its alloys possess cytotoxic effects and the corresponding influence factors. According to the guidelines of the PRISMA statement, an electronic combined hand search was conducted to retrieve articles published in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus (2013.1–2023.2) following the PICOS strategy. Eighty-six eligible articles were included. The quality of the included toxicity studies was assessed utilizing the ToxRTool. Among the included articles, extract tests were performed in 83 studies, and direct contact tests were conducted in 18 studies. According to the results of this review, the cytotoxicity of Zn-based BMs is mainly determined by three factors, namely, Zn-based materials, tested cells, and test system. Notably, Zn and its alloys did not exhibit cytotoxic effects under certain test conditions, but significant heterogeneity existed in the implementation of the cytotoxicity evaluation. Furthermore, there is currently a relatively lower quality of current cytotoxicity evaluation in Zn-based BMs owing to the adoption of nonuniform standards. Establishing a standardized in vitro toxicity assessment system for Zn-based BMs is required for future investigations.

Forged to heal: The role of metallic cellular solids in bone tissue engineering

“…Fig. 2 summarizes the mechanical strength versus the qualitative biocompatibility of the most common classes of metals that are used – or could be used – to produce biomedical cellular solids, based on various literature references [ [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] ]. The biological performance is primarily influenced by potential cytotoxicity and ion release, and secondarily by the alloys ability to promote osseointegration.…”

Effect of Nd on Functional Properties of Biodegradable Zn Implants in In Vitro Environment

“…In contrast, biodegradable implants can degrade and be absorbed post implantation while maintaining their mechanical integrity during the critical period before complete healing is achieved [3][4][5][6]. In many cases, the use of a temporary biodegradable implant is sufficient as there is no need for the presence of the implant after the recovery of the tissue [6][7][8][9][10][11]. The desired time for the biodegradable implant to remain in the body until complete dissolution varies, depending on the function of the implant and the tissue to which it is attached.…”

Advancements and Challenges in the Application of Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) Nanocomposites for Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment

“… 1–5 However, the complex intricacies of biomedicine pose a challenge for single-component organic and inorganic materials in terms of their biological functionality while ensuring biocompatibility, 6 as well as tackling concerns like cell or tissue toxicity. 7–9

Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the application of MOF materials in different fields. Adapted from Cao, Y., Fu, M., Fan, S., Gao, C., Ma, Z., & Hou, D. Hydrophobic MOF/PDMS-Based QCM Sensors for VOCs Identification and Quantitative Detection in High-Humidity Environments.

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