Bio-Resorption Control of Magnesium Alloy AZ31 Coated with High and Low Molecular Weight Polyethylene Oxide (PEO) Hydrogels

Magnesium AZ31 alloy has been chosen as bio-resorbable temporary prosthetic implants to investigate the degradation processes in a simulating body fluid (SBF) of the bare metal and the ones coated with low and high-molecular-weight PEO hydrogels. Hydrogel coatings are proposed to control the bioresorption rate of AZ31 alloy. The alloy was preliminary hydrothermally treated to form a magnesium hydroxide layer. 2 mm discs were used in bioresorption tests. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize the surface morphology of the hydrothermally treated and PEO-coated magnesium alloy surfaces. The variation of pH and the mass of Mg2+ ions present in the SBF corroding medium have been monitored for 15 days. Corrosion current densities (Icorr) and corrosion potentials (Ecorr) were evaluated from potentiodynamic polarisation tests on the samples exposed to the SBF solution. Kinetics of cumulative Mg ions mass released in the corroding solution have been evaluated regarding cations diffusion and mass transport parameters. The initial corrosion rates for the H- and L-Mw PEO-coated specimens were similar (0.95 ± 0.12 and 1.82 ± 0.52 mg/cm2day, respectively) and almost 4 to 5 times slower than that of the uncoated system (6.08 mg/cm2day). Results showed that the highly swollen PEO hydrogel coatings may extend into the bulk solution, protecting the coated metal and efficiently controlling the degradation rate of magnesium alloys. These findings focus more research effort on investigating such systems as tunable bioresorbable prosthetic materials providing idoneous environments to support cells and bone tissue repair.