Biodegradable materials such as polymers and magnesium and its alloys are gaining attention and approval for clinical use as osteosynthesis implants. However, polymers often lack the required mechanical strength and commercial Mg systems contain elements that are not naturally occurring in the body. Extra-high purity magnesium alloyed with 1 weight % zinc and 0.3 weight % calcium (ZX10) aims to confront these disadvantages to eventually emerge as an optimal material for fracture fixation.
In this thesis, ZX10 has been biomedically characterized using various tools to test its ability to function as a screw plate system in mandibular angle fractures. The material was analyzed after production using metallography techniques. Implants were designed and optimized using finite element techniques and mechanical tests were performed to compare strength against commercially available screw-plate Ti systems of the craniomaxillofacial (CMF) region. Cytotoxicity tests were undertaken to gain an insight into biocompatibility. All results indicate that ZX10 bone plate and screw can be designed within acceptable dimensions to match the flexural strength of a Ti plate in 4 point bending and a Ti screw in pull out tests. Cell cultures in 10 % concentrations of corrosion products show low cytotoxicity, 50 % concentrations show moderate cytotoxicity and 100 % concentrations of corrosion products show severe cytotoxicity. Viable cells were observed in the presence of the implant material.
With a corrosion rate of 1.08 mm/year in simulated body fluid, ZX10 behaves comparably to commercially available degradable systems such as the WE43 alloy and thus bespeaks further development and in vivo characterization to move towards clinical implementation.