Fabrication and characterization of bioresorbable zinc/WC nanocomposite springs for short bowel syndrome treatment

Abstract Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS) is a devastating disease that affects thousands of lives every year. Patients diagnosed with SBS have malabsorption. Recently, endoscopically inserted springs were used to lengthen the small intestines. However, the springs are not biodegradable and need to be surgically removed after lengthening. Zinc, as a novel biodegradable material with suitable corrosion rate, is promising for this application. unfortunately, zinc lacks the mechanical strength to be used as effective springs. In this study, we successfully designed and fabricated a biodegradable Zn-WC nanocomposite spring with enhanced and tunable mechanical strengths to meet with requirements of springs for in vivo animal testing.