THE INFLUENCE OF RAPID SOLIDIFICATION ON THE CYTOTOXIC EFFECT OF BIODEGRADABLE EW62 MG ALLOY

Orly Hakimi 1 Yvonne Ventura 2 Jeremy Goldman 3 Razi Vago 2 Eli Aghion 1
1Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva
2Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva
3Biomedical Engineering Department, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan

Biodegradable Mg alloys are promising structural materials for implants applications. This is mainly due to their excellent biocompatibility and their degradable behavior in physiological environment. However, the fast degradation rates of Mg alloys may result in potentially cytotoxic effects on the surrounding cells. Rapid solidification processing is a favorable approach to improve the corrosion resistance and significantly increase the specific strength of Mg alloys. EW62, a novel Mg alloy obtained by rapid solidification and extrusion (RS) was developed to meet the in vivo requirements in terms of mechanical strength and corrosion rate1-3. The present study aims at evaluating the influence of rapid solidification on the cytotoxic effect of EW62 alloy using a murine osteosarcoma cell culture model under in vitro conditions. Two cell culture methods included indirect cell viability and direct cell adhesion were carried out using EW62 RS alloy and its conventionally cast EW62 CC counterpart alloy. The obtained results indicate that the improved corrosion resistance of the rapidly solidified alloy resulted in relatively reduced cytotoxic effect on tumorous cells compared to conventionally cast alloy. The EW62 RS alloy exhibited stable pH and lower values of weight gain and Mg2+ concentration in the culture medium. Moreover, the superior mechanical properties of RS alloy were maintained during its degradation. Hence, it is believed that the rapidly solidified alloy may introduce a good balance between its biodegradation characteristics and cytotoxic effect towards living cells.

References:

  1. Hakimi O, Aghion E, Goldman J, Mater Sci and Eng C, 2015:51;226–32.
  2. Hakimi O, Aghion E, Adv. Eng. Mater, 2014:16; 364-70.
  3. Chen Y, Xu Z, Smith C, Sankar J, Acta biomater, 2014:10; 4561-73.









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