Recent advances on the development of biodegradable magnesium alloys: a review

Magnesium alloys have great potential to be used as biodegradable implant materials. In this review, the biodegradation mechanism of magnesium alloys was illustrated and two methods to improve the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys, namely, alloying and surface treatment were introduced. In each part, the mechanism of improving corrosion resistance was summarised. Finally, the further development of biomaterial magnesium alloys was predicted in this review.