Cerium-based coating for enhancing the corrosion resistance of bio-degradable Mg implants

Recently there has been interest in employing degradable metallic implants for internal fixation in bone fracture healing. The major purpose of using degradable implants is to avoid a second surgery for implant removal when bone healing has completed. However, the corrosion rate of Mg in vivo is too high. Thus increasing the corrosion resistance of Mg is the key problem to address in the development of degradable Mg implants. One possible route is by way of surface treatment, which would lower the corrosion rate at the initial phase of bone healing, the period during which the implant provides mechanical support for the broken bone. In the present study cerium oxide coating was prepared on pure Mg by cathodic deposition in cerium nitrate solution followed by hydrothermal treatment. The coated samples were characterized by SEM, EDS and XRD. The corrosion resistance in Hanks' solution (a simulated body fluid) was studied using polarization method and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The corrosion resistance of cerium oxide coated Mg in Hanks' solution at 37 deg. C and pH 7.4 was higher than that of bare Mg by about two orders of magnitude.