Influence of SaOS-2 cells on corrosion behavior of cast Mg-2.0Zn0.98Mn magnesium alloy

Abstract In this research, the effect of the presence of living cells (SaOS-2) on in vitro degradation of Mg-2.0Zn-0.98Mn (ZM21) magnesium alloy was examined by two methods simple immersion/cell culture tests and electrochemical measurements (electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization) under cell culture conditions. In immersion/cell culture tests, when SaOS-2 cells were cultured on ZM21 samples, pH of cell culture medium decreased, therefore weight loss and Mg 2+ ion release from the samples increased. Electrochemical measurements revealed the presence of living cells increased corrosion rate ( I corr ) and decreased polarization resistance ( R p ) after 48 h of incubation. This acceleration of ZM21 corrosion can mainly be attributed to the decrease of medium pH due to cellular metabolic activities.