Mechanical properties, degradation behaviors and biocompatibility of micro-alloyed Mg-Sr-RE alloys for stent applications

This article describes the development of Mg-Sr-RE (RE = La, Nd, Gd) alloys based on a microalloying strategy for stent applications, which aims to control the biosafety and improve the degradation simultaneously. The results reveal that the designed Mg-Sr-RE alloys are close to a single-phase solid solution with the total alloying addition restricted to 0.5 wt%. Mg-Sr-RE alloy exhibits 0.5–2 times increment of ductility while 45–66% slower corrosion rates than binary Mg-Sr. Both the indirect and direct cell assays indicate that Mg-Sr-RE alloys reduce HAVSMCs proliferation, stimulate the HUVECs growth and endothelialization related gene expression, which may benefit in the healing of stent-assisted vascular injuries.