Characteristics Investigation of the Initial Development of Miniplate Made from Composite of Magnesium/Carbonate Apatite Fabricated by Powder Metallurgy Method for Biodegradable Implant Applications

The development of magnesium-based materials, applied for a biodegradable implant, attracted the attention of many researchers. In this research, the initial development of the Mg/carbonate apatite (CA) miniplate was carried out. The miniplate Mg/5CA is fabricated through powder metallurgy and is followed by a sintering process. Pure magnesium is also fabricated with the same process and is used as a reference. The visual form, microstructure (OM), bending test and corrosion test of miniplate were investigated. The results showed that the visual form of the Mg/5CA miniplate is still not perfect. Flexural stress, flexural strain, and elasticity modulus were obtained at 34.02 MPa, 0.9%, and 3.53 GPa, respectively. The corrosion rate is obtained at 12.64 mm/year. The compaction process of Mg/5CA powder followed by sintering is considered to be less appropriate. The addition of the extrusion process and/or the ECAP process in fabrication can be an option to improve its properties.