Zinc Wire Corroding in an Artery (IMAGE)

Michigan Technological University

Zinc Wire Corroding in an Artery

Caption

This series of scanning electron microscope images illustrates the corrosion of zinc wire implanted in rats' arteries at 1.5 months, 3 months, 4.5 months and 6 months. The wires degraded at a rate just below 0.2 millimeters per year -- the "magic" value for bioabsorbable stents -- for the first three months. After that, the corrosion accelerated, so the implant would not remain in the artery for too long.

Credit

SEM image by Patrick Bowen

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