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Magnesium and its alloys are highly degradable metals that are potentially useful as biomaterials, especially in orthopaedic and cardiovascular applications. However, the in vivo corrosion has proved to be too high. Because of the complexity of in vivo conditions, a careful study of the corrosion of magnesium in synthetic solutions that simulate the in vivo environment is necessary as a first approach to predict the actual in vivo situation. The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of the electrolyte composition on the corrosion behavior of magnesium and two Mg-alloys in synthetic biological media. Pure magnesium and its alloys (AZ31 and LAE442) were employed in the experiments. Electrochemical potentiodynamic polarization curves were recorded in sodium chloride and PBS electrolytes with different chloride ion and albumin concentration. Optical and SEM observations complemented by EDX analysis were made. The results showed that magnesium corrosion is localized in chloride- and albumin-containing buffer solutions. They also showed that the chloride concentration and the presence of buffer and protein strongly affect the electrochemical behavior of magnesium and magnesium alloys.

Binary magnesium–silver (Mg–Ag) alloys were designed as antibacterial material to treat infections in an implant site. The mechanical and electrochemical measurements were performed on three casting Mg–Ag alloys under cell culture conditions. The composition and distribution of the corrosion layer was analyzed by microscopy and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In cell culture media, Mg–Ag alloys show higher, but still acceptable general corrosion rates while less susceptibility to pitting corrosion than pure Mg with increasing content of silver. This study indicates that Mg–Ag alloys have satisfactory corrosion properties and much better mechanical properties than pure magnesium as a functional biodegradable material.

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