Magnesium surgical implants can be designed to biodegrade, promote bone growth (phys.org)
Ask anyone who has a surgical pin in their body, and they likely will tell you they wish it would just go away.
In the future, it just might, with help from research by Michele Manuel, an associate professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Florida.
Manuel has developed a surgical pin made from magnesium and is working to control the rate at which the pin degrades in the body. In laboratory tests, the pin offers several advantages over the plastic and stainless steel or titanium pins currently used.
"We don't always want to put in a metal implant and leave it there forever," Manuel said. "The idea with this pin is that it would dissolve over time, and after it's finished, your body is basically in the same state it was before you had an injury.
"Everybody knows someone who has an implant in their body that they wish wasn't there," Manuel said. "Surgical pins don't have to become permanent fixtures in the body."
The pin not only biodegrades but also aids healing. Magnesium builds bone, so it can function both as a pin and as a nutrient.
"You have to have magnesium to li...
