In vitro corrosion properties of HTHEed Mg-Zn-Y-Nd alloy microtubes for stent applications: Influence of second phase particles and crystal orientation

Abstract

Magnesium (Mg) alloys are promising materials for cardiovascular stent applications due to their good biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, in vitro and in vivo corrosion tests reveal that Mg alloy stents suffer from a rapid corrosion rate and severe localized corrosion, which is limiting their widespread application. To solve the problem of uneven degradation of stents, a HTHE (long-time and high-temperature heat treatment, large-reduction-ratio hot extrusion) process is used to manufacture Mg-Zn-Y-Nd alloy microtubes in this study. The heat treatment is to dissolve alloying elements and reduce the size of SPPs, and the hot extrusion is to acquire fine-grained and strongly textured microtubes. The microstructural characterization shows that coarse second phases in as-cast alloy are refined and uniformly distributed in matrix of microtubes. After hot extrusion, microtubes show strong texture with basal plain oriented parallel to the longitudinal section (LS). The corrosion testing indicates that severe localized corrosion occurs on the cross section (CS) while localized corrosion is alleviated on the LS. Based on the different corrosion properties of the LS and CS, HTHEed microtubes are promising for solving the problems of rapid corrosion rate and severe localized corrosion of Mg alloy stents.