Influence of model environment complexity on corrosion mechanism of biodegradable zinc alloys

Today, many biodegradable zinc alloys are being developed. Thus, it is necessary to have a corrosion test enabling the selection of alloys already in development laboratories. However, the results must agree with the data from in-vivo. In this work, the complexity of available models of the body environment on the mechanism of the degradation of the Zn-0.8Mg-0.2Sr was studied. The tested media were physiological saline, simulated body fluid, and minimal essential medium with or without proteins. The natural-like barrier is formed in MEM. Proteins block less noble sites. The response in the first hours of exposure differs from longer-term data.

Automated summary

This study compared the degradation reactions of Zn-0.8Mg-0.2Sr in different in vivo environmental models, showing that proteins formed a natural-like barrier in the minimal essential medium, blocking less noble sites. The initial response during exposure differs from longer-term data.