Preparation and characterization of a new biomedical magnesium-calcium alloy

Magnesium alloys are currently used in many structural applications. It is believed that magnesium and its alloys may also find applications in biomedical fields. In this study, a new biomedical magnesium-based alloy, i.e., magnesium-calcium (Mg-Ca) has been designed from biological and metallurgical viewpoints. The microstructure, mechanical and corrosion behaviors of Mg-Ca alloys with varying calcium content were investigated. The results show that a magnesium alloy with 0.6 wt.% calcium content (denoted as Mg-0.6Ca) shows good corrosion and mechanical properties. Our preliminary results demonstrate a good potential of this Mg-0.6Ca alloy as a new biomedical material. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.