pH Stimuli‐Responsive, Rapidly Self‐healable Coatings Enhanced the Corrosion Resistance and Osteogenic Differentiation of Mg‐1Ca Osteoimplant

Mg-Ca alloys have emerged as a promising research direction for biomedical implants in the orthopedic field. However, their clinical use is deterred by their fast corrosion rate. In this work, a pH stimuli-responsive silk-halloysite (HNT)/phytic acid (PA) self-healing coating (Silk-HNT/PA) is constructed to slow down the corrosion rate of Mg-1Ca alloy and its cell viability and osteogenic differentiation ability are enhanced. The Silk-HNT/PA coating exhibits appealing active corrosion protection, by eliciting pH-triggerable self-healing effects, while simultaneously affording superior biocompatibility and osteogenic differentiation ability. Moreover, in vivo studies by histological analysis also demonstrate better osseointegration for the Silk-HNT/PA coated Mg-1Ca alloy. In summary, the Silk-HNT/PA coating in the present study has great potential in enhancing the biomedical utility of Mg alloys.