J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2025, Vol. 237: 20-37.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2024.12.053

• Research Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

High-toughness Zn-Mn-Ca alloys as potential materials for intestinal implants

Xiao-Jing Jia, Kun Yanga, Sheng-Lian Yaoa, Haijun Zhangb,c, Ke-Wei Gaod, Zhang-Zhi Shia,e,*, Dake Xuf,g,*, Lu-Ning Wanga,e,*   

  1. aBeijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, State Key Laboratory for Advance Metals and Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China;
    bDepartment of Interventional and Vascular Surgery, The Tenth People's Hospital of Shanghai, Tongji University, Shanghai 200072, China;
    cNational United Engineering Laboratory for Biomedical Material Modification, Branden Industrial Park, Qihe Economic & Development Zone, Dezhou 251100, China;
    dDepartment of Materials Physics and Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China;
    eInstitute of Materials Intelligent Technology, Liaoning Academy of Materials, Shenyang 110004, China;
    fCorrosion and Protection Center, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China;
    gKey Laboratory for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials (Ministry of Education), Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
  • Received:2024-10-19 Revised:2024-11-27 Accepted:2024-12-10 Published:2025-12-01 Online:2026-01-08
  • Contact: *E-mail addresses: ryansterne@163.com (Z.-Z. Shi), xudake@mail.neu.edu.cn(D. Xu), luning.wang@ustb.edu.cn (L.-N. Wang) .

Abstract: There have been many studies on the perspective Zn alloys for bone implants, but few for intestinal applications. Zn-0.4Mn-xCa (x = 0, 0.05 and 0.1 wt.%) alloys are developed in this work for intestinal applications, in order to make use of proliferation effects of Mn and Ca elements on intestinal probiotics and epithelial cells. Rat small intestinal crypt epithelial (IEC-6) cells can grow healthily on surfaces of all the alloys. Among them, the number of healthy cells on Zn-0.4Mn-0.1Ca is the largest. IEC-6 cell viability is over 160% (much higher than the benchmark of 75%) in 20%-100% extracts of Zn-0.4Mn-0.1Ca for 5 d. All the alloys can promote proliferation of L. acidophilus (intestinal probiotic) and inhibit growth of Escherichia coli (intestinal pathogen). Among them, Zn-0.4Mn-0.1Ca alloy possesses the greatest effect. With the increase of Ca content, the strength of the alloy increases. Zn-0.4Mn-0.1Ca alloy has the highest strength and good plasticity among the three alloys. It exhibits a yield strength of 252 MPa, an ultimate tensile strength of 288 MPa, and a elongation to failure of 41%. Since CaZn13-MnZn13-Zn micro-cell controls corrosion rate, Zn-0.4Mn-0.1Ca with the highest volume fractions of MnZn13 and CaZn13 has the highest corrosion rate of 17.64 µm/year when immersed in simulated intestinal fluid for 28 d. Overall, the Zn-Mn-Ca alloys are promising candidates for intestinal implants.

Key words: Biodegradable Zn alloys, Intestinal applications, Cytocompatibility, Bacterial activity, Corrosion behavior