APPLICATION OF MAGNESIUM OXIDE FUNCTIONAL COATING FOR CONTROLLING THE CORROSION OF MAGNESIUM FOR IMPLANT APPLICATIONS

Magnesium and its alloys are great candidates for uses in orthopedic implant applications due to their biocompatibility, mechanical properties and degradability. However, they are susceptible to accelerated degradation rates due to micro galvanic corrosion, which leads to unpredictable corrosion behavior. The poor corrosion resistance limitation restricts the practical use of Mg for implant application, where exposure to aggressive environment of body fluids is unavoidable. This paper describes the growth, characterization and corrosion analyses of MgO coatings which can slow down the degradation of Mg. Bilayer Mg-MgO system was prepared by pulse DC magnetron sputtering method and used as a model for evaluation of sustainability of MgO on Mg surface. Immersion tests were performed on Mg-MgO system with varying thicknesses using the optical density method. The tests were performed at room temperature and 37 degrees C with deionized water, phosphate buffered saline, albumin, media, media with fetal bovine serum and saline solutions. The result showed that degradation rate of MgO on Mg substrate significantly depends on media.