ABSTRACT
Bone defects occur owing to injuries, accidents, illness, and aging. In orthopedic applications, repair and regeneration, as well as bone and joint replacement of bone defects, are required. An implant is a setup fitted inside the human body to assist in the repair of bone defects. In the last 50 years, there has been significant development of biomaterials for orthopedic implant applications. While the first generation of implant materials was of bioinert materials used in physiological environments, the second generation has been the use of bioactive and biodegradable materials. Biodegradable implants are temporary implants and require no revision surgery to remove them from the patient body. Therefore, these implants minimize the extra cost of revision surgery, trauma, and complications of a patient. One of the foremost requirements of these implants is not to lose their mechanical integrity before complete bone healing. Metals, biodegradable polymers, and ceramics are the commonly used clinically biodegradable implant materials. Magnesium, zinc, and iron are widely used metals in clinical applications owing to their biodegradable behavior. However, biopolymers have low strength, bioceramics are brittle, Zn has low strength, and Fe has low biodegradability, limiting their applications. In light of the above, Mg alloys and their composites are very promising candidate materials for implant applications. This chapter provides a rigorous insight into the various possible strategies to develop improved biodegradable implant materials for futuristic orthopedic applications.
