Maria Wątroba

Visiting PhD researcher (AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland)

Novel Zn-based alloys as a promising biodegradable implant material

 

Supervisor in Erlangen: Prof. Aldo R. Boccaccini

Supervisor in Poland: Prof. Piotr Bała

The use of biodegradable metallic materials in cardiology and orthopedics has gained a growing interest in the last few years. Zinc possesses numerous features desirable in short-term biomedical implants. However, its brittleness and poor strength limit its use in the pure form for load-bearing applications [1]. Current research aims to show that the fabrication of high-strength and ductile zinc alloy with silver and magnesium additions via complex plastic deformation processes does not alter the optimal biodegradation behavior and biocompatibility [2]. The research conducted at the FAU Institute of Biomaterials includes the cytotoxicity and antibacterial activity assessment of the fabricated multi-phase zinc alloy. The fellowship is financed by The European Virtual Institute on Knowledge-based Multifunctional Materials AISBL (KMM-VIN).

[1] H.S. Han, S. Loffredo, I. Jun, J. Edwards, Y.C. Kim, H.K. Seok, F. Witte, D. Mantovani, S. Glyn-Jones, Current status and outlook on the clinical translation of biodegradable metals, Mater. Today. 23 (2019) 57–71. doi:10.1016/j.mattod.2018.05.018.

[2] M. Wątroba, W. Bednarczyk, J. Kawałko, P. Bała, Fine-tuning of mechanical properties in a Zn–Ag–Mg alloy via cold plastic deformation process and post-deformation annealing, Bioact. Mater. 6 (2021) 3424–3436. doi:10.1016/j.bioactmat.2021.03.017.