Additively-manufactured Mg wire-reinforced PLDL-matrix composites for biomedical applications

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2024 Mar 2;153:106496. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2024.106496. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTCoupons of a medical grade PLDL polymer matrix uniaxially reinforced with a 15% volume fraction of Mg wires have been manufactured by fused filament fabrication for the first time. Two different types of Mg wires, without and with a surface treatment by plasma electrolytic oxidation were used. Both composite materials were subjected to degradation in phosphate buffer solution over a 3-week period, and their degradation and deformation micromechanisms were analysed in detail. Additionally, the materials were subjected to extensive mechanical testing under various loading conditions, and the interface strength was also analysed. It was found that the presence of the Mg wires improves the mechanical behaviour and accelerates the corrosion rate of the composite with respect that of the polymer matrix and these properties can be further tailored through the surface-modification of Mg wires by plasma electrolytic oxidation. The additive manufacturing strategy presented opens the path to fabricate multimaterial implants and scaffolds with complex shape and tailored properties provided by biodegradable polymers reinforced with either Mg and Zn particles and/or wires.PMID:38460456 | DOI:10.1016/j.jmbbm.2024.106496

Source: Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials - March 9, 2024 Category: Materials Science Authors: C Thompson C Gonz ález J LLorca Source Type: research