Biodegradable metals have been extensively studied for use as temporary implants because they eliminate the inherent complications associated with permanent implants, such as perpetual inflammation, implant loosening, and secondary surgeries. Magnesium (Mg), iron (Fe), and their alloys are excellent candidates as temporary implants due to their biocompatibility and non-toxic, degradable products. The current drawbacks of these two metals, however, are their degradation rates in the physiological environment. Mg and its alloys, in particular, degrade extremely rapidly, resulting in failure of the implant before tissue/bone healing occurs and the rapid evolution of hydrogen, causing injury to surrounding tissue. On the other hand, Fe and its alloys have a low corrosion rate, thereby acting as a permanent implant. As a result, it is critically important to develop techniques to regulate the rates at which these metals degrade in the physiological environment. In the present work, the objective is to resolve the degradation rate for both Mg- and Fe- based alloys by modifying the microstructure using severe plastic deformation technique of groove pressing. Pure Mg, Mg-Ca, ZE41, and Fe-Mn alloys will be investigated. Mg-0.6 wt. % Ca sheets of 2 mm thickness were processed by groove pressing at 330 ℃ to refine the grain size. The degradation and corrosion rates, hydrogen evolution and biomineralization in Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) solution have been investigated. It has been shown that groove pressing technique has the potential to control the degradation and enhancement of the biomineralization process for Mg-based temporary implants.

Keywords: Groove Pressing, Biodegradable Metals, Degradation, Bioactivity.