Surface Modification of Pure Zinc by Acid Etching: Accelerating the Corrosion Rate and Enhancing Biocompatibility and Antibacterial Characteristics

Zinc (Zn) has recently been identified as an auspicious biodegradable metal for medical implants and devices due to its tunable mechanical properties and good biocompatibility. However, the slow corrosion rate of Zn in a physiological environment does not meet the requirements for biodegradable implants, hindering its clinical translation. The present study aimed to accelerate the corrosion rate of pure Zn by utilizing acid etching to roughen the surface and increase the substrate surface area. The effects of acid etching on surface morphology, surface roughness, tensile properties, hardness, electrochemical corrosion and degradation behavior, cytocompatibility, direct cell attachment, and biofilm formation were investigated. Interestingly, acid-treated Zn showed an exceptionally high rate of corrosion (∼226–125 μm/year) compared to untreated Zn (∼62 μm/year), attributed to the increased surface roughness (Ra ∼ 1.12 μm) of acid-etched samples. Immersion tests in Hank’s solution revealed that acid etching accelerated the degradation rate of Zn samples. In vitro, MC3T3-E1 cell lines in 50 and 25% conditioned media extracts of treated samples showed good cytocompatibility. Reduced bacterial adhesion, biofilm formation, and dispersion were observed for Staphylococci aureus biofilms cultured on acid-etched pure Zn substrates. These results suggest that the surface modification of biodegradable pure Zn metals by acid etching markedly increases the translation potential of zinc for various biomedical applications.