Work

Effect of Protein Concentration on the Corrosion Behavior of Magnesium Alloys

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: When magnesium alloy is used in the human physiological environment, it will be affected by protein.In this work, the corrosion mechanism of a magnesium alloy in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) containing various concentrations of bovine serum albumin (BSA) (0,0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 3.5 and 5.0 g/L) was systematically investigated.Surface characterisation was carried out by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM),energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and contact-angle measurements,whereas electrochemical behaviour was evaluated through potentiodynamic polarisation, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM).Complementary immersion tests were performed to corroborate the electrochemical findings.To elucidate the time-dependent effect of protein concentration, the electrochemical response and corrosion products of specimens immersed for 1, 3 and 7 d in solutions containing 0, 2.0 and 5.0 g/L BSA were also examined.Results showed that the presence of BSA up to 2.0 g/L reduced the corrosion rate, and the minimum corrosion current density occurred at 2.0 g/L,whereas a higher concentration (5.0 g/L) of BSA significantly accelerated localized corrosion of magnesium alloy surface.In the later stages of immersion, the overall corrosion resistance of the alloy deteriorated.When the BSA concentration was kept below 2.0 g/L, protein molecules formed a monolayer via chemisorption on the alloy surface, leading to a continuous decrease in corrosion rate with increasing BSA concentration.During prolonged immersion, this non-dense adsorbed layer was penetrated by the corrosive medium and consequently lost its protective effect.At 5.0 g/L BSA, protein molecules chelated the metal ions released from the alloy, forming soluble complexes that accelerated corrosion.With further immersion, the continual deposition, detachment and chelation of high-concentration BSA further intensified the dissolution of the magnesium alloy.
Author: MA Yucong, WANG Pengjie, OUYANG Zhengzheng, Mohd TALHA, LIN Yuanhua
Language: English
Subfield: Biomaterials
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6962730798
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