Magnesium (Mg) is commonly used as a biomaterial because of its
biocompatibility, biodegradation, non-toxicity, and good mechanical properties. The
conventional consideration for selecting Mg alloy elements is based on their corrosion
resistance, good hardness, and strength. Therefore, some of the alloying elements that
enable the above properties are zinc, calcium, and aluminum. The future requirement of
biomaterial involves non-toxicity in addition to the existing properties. The tensile
strength and hardness of polymeric materials used as a replacement for metallic
materials in biomedical applications were lesser. Therefore, calcium and zinc were
sourced organically from cow bones and cocoa seeds, respectively, to eliminate the
adverse effect of the inorganic source of the same element. Zinc and calcium were
alloyed with magnesium at different percentages recommended by Junjin, 2017
experiments (0.23% Zn, 0.15% Ca in alloy 1 and 0.25% Zn, 0.23% Ca in alloy 2). The
hardness, tensile strength, and percentage elongation of the as-cast materials from
organic alloy sources were investigated and compared to similar experiments from the
literature with the inorganic alloy source. The result showed that Mg alloy with organic
zinc and calcium exhibit better hardness (52.1 HRv in alloy 1 and 60.7 HRv in alloy 2),
tensile strength (181.3 MPa in alloy 1 and 208.3MPa in alloy 2), and ductility (13.1%
elongation in alloy 1 and 18% in alloy 2) compared to Jinjin Mg alloy from an
inorganic source of lesser values of mechanical properties. It can be concluded that
zinc and calcium from organic sources is a better replacement for inorganic sources in
Mg alloy.
Keywords: Alloying elements, Biomaterial, Magnesium, Mechanical properties.
