A total of 16 Mg stents were placed into a 1.8 ml cryo-tube filled with artificial nasal mucus (BZ253, BioChemazone, Alberta, Canada) at 37°C, respectively. The artificial nasal mucus was tested in a human ET like environment. The surface morphologies of the Mg stents and mass changes were analyzed at one, two, and four weeks, each with four samples. The remaining four Mg stents were used as a control. The Mg stents were removed from the cryo-tube and washed in an ultrasonic bath immersed in isopropyl alcohol. The mass of the washed stents was measured using an electronic balance (Ohaus Corp., Pine Brook, NJ, USA), and the percentage of mass loss was calculated as follows:
where M and Md were the initial and remaining masses of the stent, respectively [20 (link)]. The surface morphologies of the Mg stents were examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM, Sigma-300, Carl Zeiss, Germany).
where M and Md were the initial and remaining masses of the stent, respectively [20 (link)]. The surface morphologies of the Mg stents were examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM, Sigma-300, Carl Zeiss, Germany).
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