In-vitro Corrosion-Induced Strength-Ductility Degradation in WE43 and ZX10 Magnesium Alloy Fine Wires for Biomedical Applications

In-vitro Corrosion-Induced Strength-Ductility Degradation in WE43 and ZX10 Magnesium Alloy Fine Wires for Biomedical Applications | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article In-vitro Corrosion-Induced Strength-Ductility Degradation in WE43 and ZX10 Magnesium Alloy Fine Wires for Biomedical Applications Beril Ulugun, Sreenivas Raguraman, Nana Barimah Osei-Owusu, Sneha Raj, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5837486/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract With an increasing demand for biodegradable structural materials, magnesium (Mg) alloys stand out as promising candidates. Here, we investigate the corrosion-induced mechanical degradation of fine wires made from WE43 and ZX10 Mg alloys, evaluating their suitability for biomedical applications such as scaffolds, stents, and sutures. Both alloys exhibit distinct microstructural features that influence their corrosion and mechanical behavior. WE43 wires, characterized by neodymium-rich precipitates and elongated grains, showed significant axial pitting corrosion and a rapid decline in mechanical properties attributed to micro-galvanic corrosion and potential hydrogen embrittlement. In contrast, ZX10 wires, featuring coarser and heterogeneously distributed Mg 2 Ca precipitates, demonstrated extensive localized pitting but retained higher ductility and toughness over extended exposure. Micro-CT analyses reveal that precipitate size, distribution, and volume fraction critically influence corrosion morphology and mechanical degradation. The findings emphasize the importance of tailoring alloy microstructures to enhance corrosion resistance and mechanical performance. While WE43's higher corrosion rates and more rapid property degradation limit its potential in applications with fine dimensions, ZX10's lower corrosion rate and higher mechanical resilience make it a more viable candidate. Future research should prioritize developing chemically homogeneous precipitates in ZX10 that are small and uniformly distributed. Metallurgy Biomaterials Biomedical Engineering Materials Engineering magnesium alloys biodegradable implants corrosion mechanical properties fine wires magnesium-calcium alloys rare-earth alloys Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files WE43VSZX10WiresSupplementary.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5837486","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":402710364,"identity":"e25b7bce-ba43-4b38-a352-4681f384b2f5","order_by":0,"name":"Beril Ulugun","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAvklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAwbmBhDNw89wBkixEaWFEaxFRrKBVC02Bgd4iNRiLpHYJvm17Q6P8cGzBxg+lB0mrMVyRmKbtGzbMx6zA+cSGGecI0KLwQ2gFsm2w0AtZwyYedtI0WLcANTyl1gtkh+BWgwYgFoYidFi2fOw2Zrh3GEeCaDDDvacSyesxZw9+eDNH2WH7flnnDF88KPMmrAWEGAGxQiDxAGGA8SpBwLGHyCSv4FoDaNgFIyCUTDCAAAesT8ya7byzQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4792-322X","institution":"Johns Hopkins University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Beril","middleName":"","lastName":"Ulugun","suffix":""},{"id":402710365,"identity":"58f8123d-7334-4f7c-97bf-0d16502ec496","order_by":1,"name":"Sreenivas Raguraman","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4899-7471","institution":"Johns Hopkins University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sreenivas","middleName":"","lastName":"Raguraman","suffix":""},{"id":402710366,"identity":"768fbb63-f7f5-43c8-80de-391566dd02ce","order_by":2,"name":"Nana Barimah Osei-Owusu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Johns Hopkins University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nana","middleName":"Barimah","lastName":"Osei-Owusu","suffix":""},{"id":402710367,"identity":"89a63003-0bf5-44e8-becf-322541a6590c","order_by":3,"name":"Sneha Raj","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Johns Hopkins University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sneha","middleName":"","lastName":"Raj","suffix":""},{"id":402710368,"identity":"fe9d1f2d-410b-4e8a-9a5c-de2a767dfec0","order_by":4,"name":"Clarence Ramirez","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Johns Hopkins University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Clarence","middleName":"","lastName":"Ramirez","suffix":""},{"id":402710369,"identity":"3655720e-e52e-44dd-9e97-663c6e94b0ba","order_by":5,"name":"Adam Griebel","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Fort Wayne Metals","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Adam","middleName":"","lastName":"Griebel","suffix":""},{"id":402710370,"identity":"1ab84d96-3485-4d92-ae40-0a46480d6003","order_by":6,"name":"Timothy P. 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Here, we investigate the corrosion-induced mechanical degradation of fine wires made from WE43 and ZX10 Mg alloys, evaluating their suitability for biomedical applications such as scaffolds, stents, and sutures. Both alloys exhibit distinct microstructural features that influence their corrosion and mechanical behavior. WE43 wires, characterized by neodymium-rich precipitates and elongated grains, showed significant axial pitting corrosion and a rapid decline in mechanical properties attributed to micro-galvanic corrosion and potential hydrogen embrittlement. In contrast, ZX10 wires, featuring coarser and heterogeneously distributed Mg\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003eCa\u0026nbsp;precipitates, demonstrated extensive localized pitting but retained higher ductility and toughness over extended exposure. Micro-CT analyses reveal that precipitate size, distribution, and volume fraction critically influence corrosion morphology and mechanical degradation. 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