Investigation of Mg-xLi-Zn alloys for potential application of biodegradable bone implant materials

Implant therapy after osteosarcoma surgery is a major clinical challenge currently, especially the requirements for mechanical properties, degradability of the implants, and their inhibition of residual tumor cells. Biodegradable magnesium (Mg) alloy as medical bone implant material has full advantages and huge potential development space. Wherein, Mg-lithium (Li) based alloy, as an ultra-light alloy, has good properties for implants under certain conditions, and both Mg and Li have inhibitory effects on tumor cells. Therefore, Mg-Li alloy is expected to be applied in bone implant materials for mechanical supporting and inhibiting tumor cells simultaneously. In this contribution, the Mg-xLi-Zinc (Zn) series alloys (x = 3 wt%, 6 wt%, 9 wt%) were prepared to study the influence of different elements and contents on the structure and properties of the alloy, and the biosafety of the alloy was also evaluated. Our data showed that the yield strength, tensile strength, and elongation of as-cast Mg-xLi-Zn alloy were higher than those of as-cast Mg-Zn alloy; Mg-xLi-Zn alloy can kill osteosarcoma cells (MG-63) in a concentration-dependent manner, wherein Mg-3Li-Zn alloy (x = 3 wt%) and Mg-6Li-Zn alloy (x = 6 wt%) promoted the proliferation of osteoblasts (MC3T3) at a certain concentration of Li. In summary, our study demonstrated that the Mg-6Li-Zn alloy could be potentially applied as a material of orthopedic implant for its excellent multi-functions.