Quantitative in vitro assessment of Mg65Zn30Ca5 degradation and its effect on cell viability

A bulk metallic glass (BMG) of composition Mg65Zn30Ca5 was cast directly from the melt and explored as a potential bioresorbable metallic material. The in vitro degradation behavior of the amorphous alloy and its associated effects on cellular activities were assessed against pure crystalline magnesium. Biocorrosion tests using potentiodynamic polarization showed that the amorphous alloy corroded at a much slower rate than the crystalline Mg. Analysis of the exchanged media using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry revealed that the dissolution rate of Mg ions in the BMG was 446 mu g/cm2/day, approximately half the rate of crystalline Mg (859 mu g/cm2/day). A cytotoxicity study, using L929 murine fibroblasts, revealed that both the BMG and pure Mg are capable of supporting cellular activities. However, direct contact with the samples created regions of minimal cell growth around both amorphous and crystalline samples, and no cell attachment was observed. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 101B: 4349, 2013.