Advances in degradation behavior of biomedical magnesium alloys: A review

Magnesium alloys have become promising biomedical metal materials because of their biocompatibility, degradability, and good mechanical properties. However, the rapid degradation of magnesium alloys and its associated effects have limited the applications of magnesium alloys. Alloying and preparation processes can reduce the degradation rate by changing the microstructure of magnesium alloys, such as grain size, porosity, formation of intermetallic compounds/second phases, etc. In this paper, the in vitro and in vivo degradation of magnesium alloys were reviewed in terms of degradation mechanism, influencing factors, and corrosion products. Composition design and manufacturing process were mainly discussed for controlling the degradation, and surface treatment and structural design were briefly described as control methods of degradation. This helps achieve the goal of controlled and predictable degradation rate of magnesium alloys.