Fluorescent In Situ 3D Visualization of Dynamic Corrosion Processes of Magnesium Alloys

Abstract

Magnesium (Mg) alloys as implant materials with excellent biodegradation ability have promising clinical applications for tissue repair and restoration. Although the corrosion processes of Mg alloys in biophysiological media are closely related with their biodegradation ability, only limited methods have been developed for characterization of their corrosion processes, including electrochemical analysis, weight loss measurement, and hydrogen evolution analysis. Moreover, these methods suffer from drawbacks of poor spatiotemporal resolution, static observation, and tedious operation. To tackle these challenges, we herein developed a fluorescent probe PSPA for in situ 3D monitoring of the dynamic corrosion processes of Mg alloys on the basis of its selective turn-on detection ability toward magnesium hydroxide [Mg­(OH)2], which is the main corrosion product of Mg alloys in biophysiological media. As far as we know, this is the first example of a fluorescent probe for the monitoring of corrosion processes of Mg alloys in biophysiological media. We believe this fluorescence analysis method with easy operation and high spatiotemporal resolution advantages will contribute greatly to the clinical applications of Mg alloy implants.

Corrosion of Metals During Use in Arthroplasty

“…Tong et al (2022), capitalizing on metallic byproducts of corrosion, developed a fluorescent probe portable seismic pavement analyzer (PSPA) for in situ 3D monitoring of the dynamic corrosion processes of metallic alloys . Because metal hydroxides are the primary corrosion byproduct of alloys in biophysiological media, this fantastic advancement in corrosion monitoring technology for biomedical implants explored fluorescent in situ 3D imaging of dynamic corrosion processes.…”

“…dynamic corrosion processes of metallic alloys. 118 Because metal hydroxides are the primary corrosion byproduct of alloys in biophysiological media, this fantastic advancement in corrosion monitoring technology for biomedical implants explored fluorescent in situ 3D imaging of dynamic corrosion processes. When fully developed, this fluorescent analysis method will make a significant contribution to the application and clinical observation of metallic implant behaviors, thanks to its simple operation and high spatiotemporal resolution advantages.…”

“…When fully developed, this fluorescent analysis method will make a significant contribution to the application and clinical observation of metallic implant behaviors, thanks to its simple operation and high spatiotemporal resolution advantages. 118 Furthermore, Podor et al in 2019 reported an accurate method for the characterization of materials dissolution at the micrometric scale based on environmental (E) scanning electron microscope (SEM) recording of tilted image series of the same zone at sample surfaces after several exposure times to a corrosive solution. 119 The high-quality 3D surface reconstructions, the fast data acquisition process, the possibility to observe wet samples, and the limited beam effects are among the main advantages of this technology.…”

Recent advances in regenerative biomaterials

“…The final goal of biomaterial development is clinical translation. While some methods have been developed to observe and evaluate the degradation process in vitro [ 481 ], the final evaluation of a biomaterial still needs to be based on the in vivo and even clinical data. Without suitable and precise noninvasive monitor approaches, the efficacy of biomaterials in human could not be acquired.…”