Novel antibacterial biodegradable Fe-Mn-Ag alloys produced by mechanical alloying.

Various compositions and synthesis methods of biodegradable iron-based alloys have been studied aiming for the use of temporary medical implants. However, none is focused on nano-structured alloy and on adding antibacterial property to the alloy. In this study, new Fe-30Mn-(1-3)Ag alloys were synthesized by means of mechanical alloying and assessed for their microstructure, mechanical properties, corrosion rate, antibacterial activity and cytotoxicity. Results showed that the alloy with 3 wt% Ag content displayed the highest relative density, shear strength, micro hardness and corrosion rate. However, optimum cytotoxicity and the antibacterial activity were reached by the alloy with 1 wt% Ag content. The compositional and processing effects of the alloys' properties are further discussed in this work.