A critical review of magnesium-based scaffolds for bone tissue engineering : properties, production methods, surface treatments, and multiscale evaluation techniques

Abstract

Magnesium-based scaffolds have emerged as promising candidates for bone tissue engineering due to their biodegradability, mechanical compatibility, and osteoconductive property. However, their clinical translation hinges on addressing critical challenges in production, surface treatment, and evaluation. This article presents a systematically synthesized review of recent advancements and future directions across these domains. The findings show that current production methods, including melt processing, powder metallurgy, physical drilling, and additive manufacturing, offer distinct advantages in tailoring pore architecture but face difficulties in harmonizing the structural complexities, mechanical properties, degradation behaviors, and biological responses of scaffolds. Emerging hybrid preparation techniques have the potential to combine the principles and strengths of the aforementioned methods. Surface treatments using conventional coatings are affected by stress concentration effects and hydrogen bubble retention, which cause delamination and interfacial debonding. Surface engineering must prioritize self-healing and reconfigurable coatings that dynamically adapt to microenvironmental cues and thereby stabilize protective films. Traditional assessments fail to capture multiscale interplays, whereas organ-on-a-chip systems and spatially resolved local techniques offer transformative solutions. Advancements in hybrid preparations, self-healing coatings, and multiscale evaluation techniques can overcome the inherent complexities of porous architectures and thus position Mg-based scaffolds as next-generation solutions for orthopedic applications.