Magnesium alloy for next generation of biologically-informed biodegradable orthopaedic implants.
PhD Supervisor(s): Dr Yang Liu and Prof Mark Lewis
Metal biomaterials have been applied intensively in orthopaedic surgery to aid fracture healing or as joint implants to replace defective skeletal structure. However, the medium and long term performance of such implants still needs improvement due to issues with the presence of inert materials, i.e. stress-shielding and the presence of worn particles at articulating interface. Moreover, bone as an intensively vascularised tissue, blood supply is a major obstacle that needs to be overcome in order to achieve physiological tissue regeneration, particularly for large and complex defects, requiring temporal and spatial orchestration between implanted materials and cellular regulation.
Design and production of biodegradable metal orthopaedic implant has been enlightened by different magnesium alloys with improved mechanical properties and corrosion resistance developed for aerospace application and biodegradable cardiovascular stents. Mg alloy are more suitable for load-bearing implant applications due to its superior mechanical strength and modulus compatibility with bone, avoiding stress-shielding issue. Furthermore, the contribution of magnesium to the activities of endothelial cells is well known and its beneficial effects on angiogenesis have been confirmed in both biological and physiological context. Hence, it is the right time to promote the tissue regeneration potential of Mg implants through further understanding its corrosion process and cellular consequence of corrosion.
