Iron

The excellent mechanical properties, wide body distribution, and important physiological functions of the biocorrodible metal iron [1] render it a promising candidate as a building block for a biocorrodible metal scaffold. To this end, pure iron scaffolds appear safe and demonstrate outstanding biocompatibility in rabbit and porcine abdominal aortas and porcine coronary arteries [2-4], and Fe(II) and Fe(III) inhibit vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation in vitro by reducing proliferation-related gene expression [5-7]. However, studies on a biodegradable iron scaffold have been scarce, and an iron scaffold is currently not commercially available.