Research and development progress on biodegradable zinc-based coronary stents

Biodegradable stents are becoming the research focus in both fields of interventional medical engineering and treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD) after the bare-metal stents (BMS) and drug-eluting stents (DES). In recent years, zinc-based alloys attracted increasing attention for its appropriate degradation rate and degradation behavior. The status of alloying elements, mechanical properties, degradation, biocompatibility, and animal studies of the zinc-based alloys are introduced in this review. The development prospect of zinc-based alloys as a degradable coronary stent material, and the research trend and industrialization prospect of zinc-based alloys coronary stent in China are prospected.