A zinc-based dissolvable material could replace traditional metal plates and screws, ‘offering a game-changing alternative for orthopaedics,’ experts claim.
With traditional stainless steel and titanium implants remaining in the body indefinitely, it can sometimes cause discomfort and necessitate further surgeries.
However, this new zinc alloy, developed by biomedical engineers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, promises to be both mechanically strong and safely degradable. It is designed to address these concerns while supporting optimal healing.
A study in Nature highlights how the team engineered the zinc alloy to be as strong as permanent steel implants while offering superior durability to existing biodegradable options, such as magnesium-based implants.
Professor Jian-feng Nie, lead researcher from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, believes the new development could reduce complications.
He claimed it would minimise the need for secondary surgeries and offer a more sustainable alternative to permanent implants.
He said: ‘Our zinc alloy material could revolutionise orthopaedic care – opening the door to safer, smaller implants that enhance patient comfort and promote better healing outcomes by minimising disruption to surrounding tissues.
‘An implant that never disappears will always be a risk to the patient. On the other hand, one that degrades too fast won’t allow adequate time for the bones to heal. With our zinc alloy material, we can achieve the optimal balance between strength and controlled degradation of the implant to promote better healing.’
Their research showed that by engineering the size and orientation of the material’s grains, the zinc alloy can bend and adapt uniquely to accommodate the shapes of its neighbouring tissues.
Professor Nie added: ‘This made it not only stronger but more flexible, offering a game-changing alternative for orthopaedics.’
The authors concluded: ‘The strength level achieved in these dilute zinc alloys is nearly double those of biodegradable implants made of magnesium alloys, making them the strongest and most stable biodegradable alloys available, to our knowledge, for fabricating bone fixation implants.’
The Monash University team is preparing to launch a start-up to develop next-generation biodegradable implants.
