Mechanical properties and in vitro biodegradation of newly developed porous Zn scaffolds for biomedical applications

Abstract In the present work porous Zn scaffolds with different porosities were fabricated by air pressure infiltration method (APIM) as potential degradable materials for biomedical applications. The structures, mechanical properties, in vitro biodegradation of the porous Zn scaffolds were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations show that the porous Zn scaffolds exhibit homogeneously distributed and interconnected pores. Compressive tests indicate that the compressive plateau stress of the porous Zn scaffolds decreases from 6.6 MPa to 2.8 MPa with increasing porosity from 54.2% to 71.0%. Correspondingly, the elastic modulus of the porous Zn scaffolds obtained by resonance method decreases from 2.65 GPa to 0.59 GPa. Compressive tests also confirm that localized collapse is the predominant compressive deformation mode under quasi-static compressive condition. Immersion tests suggest that the porous Zn scaffolds have a good corrosion resistance in simulated body fluid (SBF). In addition, the porous Zn scaffolds also have a good ability to induce Ca P precipitation during immersion tests.