Metals, Vol. 14, Pages 203: Superficial Modification of the Mg–Zn Biomaterials via Ion Nitriding for Biomedical Applications

Metals, Vol. 14, Pages 203: Superficial Modification of the Mg–Zn Biomaterials via Ion Nitriding for Biomedical Applications

Metals doi: 10.3390/met14020203

Authors: Sergio Gonzaga Arturo Molina Rene Guardian Horacio Martínez Edna Vázquez-Vélez Eduardo Lira-Díaz

In the present work, the powder metallurgy (PM) technique was used to synthesize biocompatible alloys Mg95–Zn5, Mg90–Zn10, and Mg85–Zn15 (wt %) under an argon atmosphere that employed stainless-steel vessels and spheres with a milling treatment of 360 rpm during 15 h. The obtained powder was consolidated through a sintering process for subsequent ion nitriding treatment to increase its corrosion resistance and hardness. The synthesized alloys analyzed by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed a reduction in particle size with increasing grinding time. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed the formation of a MgZn intermetallic phase and, furthermore, that no impurities were found during the grinding process. The surface-modified Mg–Zn alloys showed some improvement in terms of corrosion (Ecorr 26% and Icorr 13%) and microhardness (HV 40%) compared to Mg. Cytotoxicity evaluation was conducted via an MTT ((3-(4,5-DIMETHYLTHIAZOL-2-YL)-2,5-DIPHENYLTETRAZOLIUM BROMIDE)) assay, which revealed that the Mg–Zn alloys and nitrided samples did not exhibit cytotoxicity towards fibroblast cells after 96 h.