Ag-incorporated biodegradable Mg alloys

Biodegradable magnesium implants possess excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility, which make them suitable candidates to be employed as temporary structures for the bone regeneration purposes. However, there are still important challenges which limit their extensive use in biomedical applications, where the most important ones include implant-associated infection, rapid degradation rate and the need for improved mechanical properties. Silver, which is a strong antimicrobial agent, has been extensively used for improving the mentioned challenges in biodegradable Mg alloys either as alloying element or incorporation in the protective coating. Ag addition has been reported to have substantial effects on mechanical properties, degradation behavior, biocompatibility and antibacterial activity of Mg implants. In this paper, importance and properties of the Ag-incorporated biodegradable Mg alloys, as well as future work directions to broaden their biomedical applications, have been reviewed. [Display omitted]