Fig. 6.

Representative in vivo biocompatibility of Zn-based cardiovascular implants in the literature: (a) hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) stained sections of abdominal aorta after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months' implantation of pure Zn stents. (Reproduced with permissions from Ref. [164]). (b) H&E-stained cross-sections after implantation of Zn-0.8Cu alloy stents in the porcine coronary arteries for 1, 3, 9, 24 months. (Reproduced with permissions from Ref. [165]). (c) Histologic images of representative cross-sections of porcine iliofemoral arteries stented with a Zn–3Ag bioresorbable vascular stent after 3 and 6 months. (Reproduced with permissions from Ref. [166]). (d) H&E staining of 6-months implanted Zn-0.002 Mg, Zn-0.005 Mg, and Zn-0.08 Mg alloy wires through the arterial lumen at different magnifications. 2nd and 3rd rows correspond to green and yellow asterisks respectively at high magnifications. L denotes the luminal opening. (Reproduced with permissions from Ref. [167]). (e) H&E staining of Zn-0.1Li alloy wires after 11months′ implantation in the abdominal aorta of Sprague Dawley rat. Low magnification images show two subsequent areas selected for high magnification. “L” is the luminal opening of the artery. (Reproduced with permissions from Ref. [168]). (f) H&E staining of Zn–xAl alloy (x = 1, 3 and 5) strips after implantation in the wall of the abdominal aorta of adult Sprague-Dawley rats for 1.5–6 months. Black triangles mark the interface between the native adventitial tissue and corroding product/remodeled tissue. (Reproduced with permissions from Ref. [169]). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)