AccScience Publishing / IJB / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/IJB025150128
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Early Access

Selective laser melted Fe-30Mn-6Cu alloy: A multifunctional candidate for orthopedic implants with MRI compatibility, biodegradation, antibacterial efficacy, and biocompatibility

Xinjun Yang1,2 Xinhong Yin1,3 Yali He1 Junjie Cheng1 Xin Li2 Guanping Chen1 Yingchao Zhao1 Ming-Chun Zhao2*
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1 Department of Obstetrics, The First Affiliated Hospital, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China
2 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
3 School of Nursing, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China
Submitted: 8 March 2025 | Accepted: 9 April 2025 | Published: 11 April 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s).. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Orthopedic applications for biodegradable Fe-Mn-Cu alloys are currently not well-defined, necessitating comprehensive studies on their mechanical strength, wear resistance, MRI compatibility, biodegradation rate, antibacterial efficacy, cytocompatibility, and osteogenic differentiation potential. This work systematically addressed these gaps by integrating microstructural characterization, mechanical testing, and biological evaluations of Fe-30Mn-6Cu alloy fabricated via selective laser melting (SLM). For comparison, Cu-free Fe-30Mn was fabricated via SLM under the same conditions. The incorporation of 6 wt.% Cu to Fe-30Mn stabilized the γ-austenite phase, enhanced yield strength, improved wear resistance, accelerated electrochemical biodegradation rate, and imparted excellent antibacterial activity. The SLMed Fe-30Mn-6Cu (i) consisted of a complete γ-austenite phase microstructure with fine equiaxed grains (~7 μm) containing Cu-enriched intergranular second-phase particles; (ii) had a yield strength of ~230 MPa reflecting a ~24% increase, an improved tribological performance, a smaller hysteresis loop area indicating very low saturation magnetization and magnetic susceptibility, and a biodegradation rate three times higher compared to the SLMed Fe-30Mn; and (iii) presented a bacteriostatic rate over 99% against E. coli and S. aureus, as well as excellent cytocompatibility and osteogenic differentiation capability of MC3T3-E1 cells. This work provides insights into the structure-performance-function integrated multifunctional Fe-Mn-Cu alloys for orthopedic applications.

Keywords
Fe-Mn-Cu alloys
MRI compatibility
Tribological performance
Biodegradation
Antibacterial activity
Osteogenic differentiation
Funding
Financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52305313), the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (No. 2023JJ40553), and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (No. ZR2023ME181).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.
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International Journal of Bioprinting, Electronic ISSN: 2424-8002 Print ISSN: 2424-7723, Published by AccScience Publishing