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Meeting ID: 940 3251 3907
Passcode: 620350

Biodegradable magnesium (Mg)-based materials are being developed for many implant applications and new products such as the MAGNEZIX and K-MET screws have already been approved for clinical applications. Compared with other metallic implants, Mg-based alloys offer high biocompatibility and multiple bioactivities, good biomechanical compatibility that minimizes stress shielding, and the ability to dissolve safely in the body.

In this talk I will first review the properties of magnesium alloys and their use in recent animal studies and clinical trials, identifying opportunities and challenges. Then I will present our own studies of Mg alloys for use in healing bone defects and bone fractures. For bone defects, we fabricate porous scaffolds by 3D weaving with Mg alloy wires, and we characterize their architecture, corrosion rates, and vascularization using a combination of in vitro and in vivo studies. For bone fractures, we are characterizing the corrosion rate and mechanical properties of a Mg-Zn-Ca-Mn alloy under static and cyclic loading for use in fabricating rods or screws for bone fixation. The alloy and the implants are designed to minimize stress shielding, degrade safely in the body, and thus avoid the need for second surgeries. Additional applications that are under development will be also be noted.

About the Speaker(s)

Timothy Weihs '83 Th'85
Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins U

Weihs received an AB from Dartmouth in 1983, then earned bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering from Thayer in 1985. He received a PhD in materials science and engineering from Stanford University in 1990 before conducting postdoctoral research at Oxford University in England and at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. He joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 1995.

Weihs is a member of the Materials Research Society; The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society; and a fellow of the American Society for Metals. His awards include an NSF Career Award, a 3M Young Faculty Fellowship, an R&D 100 Award, an Innovator of the Year Award, the TMS Application to Practice Award, induction into the National Academy of Inventors, a Fulbright Fellowship.

Contact

For more information, contact Ashley Parker at ashley.l.parker@dartmouth.edu.