Properties of biodegradable Fe materials modified by MgO and ZnO nanoparticles

A new generation of metallic biodegradable materials are used in the preparation of various medical implants. To change the properties of such material is possible by a various additives. An addition of nanoinorganic metal oxides as MgO and ZnO to pure iron material leads to control of corrosion resistance. These specific nanoparticles cause also the reduction a bacterial contamination [1, 2]. Attention is focused on the biodegradability and biocompatibility of materials. The samples were prepared by a powder metallurgy from powdered carbonyl iron with amounts 0.5, 1.0 wt. % of nanoparticles MgO or 0.5, 1.0, 5.0 wt. % of nanoparticles ZnO. The powders were mixed in a turbula mixer, compressed and sintered. Some samples were also modified by spark plasma sintering (SPS). Corrosion of samples in the Hank's solution was investigated. Using the chronometrical potentiometry, the open-circuit potential (OCP) was recorded. Immediately after the determination of OCP, potentiodynamic measurements were performed. The samples were examined in more detail using a scanning electron microscope (authors)