The fields of biotechnology and biomedical sciences are rapidly evolving and involve the constant growth of knowledge. As a consequence, engineering design has to also remain at the cutting edge in order to not inhibit the growth of these fields. This study focuses on engineering design and analysis as it pertains to the field of biotechnology, at every step of the engineering process. More specifically, how the engineering design and analysis approach can assist in solving medical problems relating to bone diseases and biomaterials. The first part of the study focuses on a project to design and manufacture a novel exosome isolation device, with the primary purpose of creating an affordable and accessible method of isolating exosomes for the testing and diagnosis processes in the Biomaterials & Nanoscience laboratory. The second part of the study focuses on the design and analysis of biodegradable bone implants, before, during, and after implantation. Together, these projects aim to show the engineering processes of design and analysis and serve to provide insight as to how engineering principles can be applied to the medical field.

Magnesium has been identified as a promising biodegradable implant material because it does not cause systemic toxicity and can reduce stress shielding. However, it corrodes too quickly in the body. Titanium, which is already used ubiquitously for implants, was chosen as the alloying element because of its proven biocompatibility and corrosion resistance in physiological environments. Thus, alloying magnesium with titanium is expected to improve the corrosion resistance of magnesium. Mg-Ti alloys with a titanium content ranging from 5 to 35 at.-% were successfully synthesized by mechanical alloying. Spark plasma sintering was identified as a processing route to consolidate the alloy powders made by ball-milling into bulk material without destroying the alloy structure. This is an important finding as this metastable Mg-Ti alloy can only be heated up to max. 200C° for a limited time without reaching the stable state of separated magnesium and titanium. The superior corrosion behavior of Mg80-Ti20 alloy in a simulated physiological environment was shown through hydrogen evolution tests, where the corrosion rate was drastically reduced compared to pure magnesium and electrochemical measurements revealed an increased potential and resistance compared to pure magnesium. Cytotoxicity tests on murine pre-osteoblastic cells in vitro confirmed that supernatants made from Mg-Ti alloy were no more cytotoxic than supernatants prepared with pure magnesium. Mg and Mg-Ti alloys can also be used to make novel polymer-metal composites, e.g., with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) to avoid the polymer’s detrimental pH drop during degradation and alter its degradation pattern. Thus, Mg-Ti alloys can be fabricated and consolidated while achieving improved corrosion resistance and maintaining cytocompatibility. This work opens up the possibility of using Mg-Ti alloys for fracture fixation implants and other biomedical applications.

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The work presented in this thesis was conducted at Uppsala University and at Swerim AB. The study aims to broaden the knowledge about the corrosion of additively manufactured bioresorbable alloy WE43 in humanlike conditions for future applications. Biodegradable metal implants are implants meant to stay in the body and support the wounded bone for a certain time period, and then degrade as new, healthy bone forms in its place. Magnesium alloys have properties that are desired for these kind of implants as it is biodegradable, non-toxic and matches the mechanical properties of bone. Furthermore, magnesium alloy WE43, containing yttrium, neodymium and zirconium, already exist on the market as a powder extruded screw that treats Hallux valgus, thus proves the alloys compatibility as a bioresorbable implant. However, in order to optimize implants for specific situations, additive manufacturing can be a powerful tool. By utilizing the advantages of additive manufacturing, patient specific, complex designs implant can be manufactured rapidly in order to be used in a patient. On the other hand, additive manufacturing is a complex method with many aspects affecting the outcome. Therefore it is important to study the influence that different parameters have on the material's properties, especially the corrosion properties. This thesis aims to study different power settings on the laser in the manufacturing process and what effect it has on the microstructure as well as the corrosion properties of as built WE43 samples. Samples of three different parameters settings were manufactured with a Powder Bed Fusion-Laser Beam 3Dprinter. These samples were analyzed regarding surface roughness and microstructure with Light Optical Microscope, Scanning Electron Microscope, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy, Electron Backscatter Diffraction and Alicona InfiniteFocus. Furthermore, the corrosion properties of the samples were investigated by collecting and measuring hydrogen gas that is released during the corrosion process. In addition, the electrolyte were examined regarding the change in ion concentration and electrochemical tests were performed. It was found that the samples did not differ substantially in microstructure as all three parameter settings exhibited a matrix of magnesium and precipitates of alloying elements. However, the sample manufactured at the lowest energy density had pores incorporated in the bulk. Despite the porous bulk this sample performed best in the immersion tests and exhibited the lowest corrosion rate over 28 days. The reason for this behavior is not determined, however possible causes are discussed and further studies are recommended.