Diamond-based implant materials make up an emerging research area where the materials could be prepared to promote cellular functions, decrease bacteria attachment, and be suitable for potential in situ imaging. Up until now, diamond implants have been fabricated using coating technologies or embedding diamond nanoparticles in polymer matrices. Here we demonstrated a method of manufacturing diamond implants using laser cladding technology to 3D print a composite of diamond and fused titanium material. Using this method, we could prepare composite scaffolds of up to 50% diamond, which has never been achieved before. We next investigated the interfacial properties of these scaffolds for potential applications in implants. The addition of diamond to the biomaterial results in a 30% decrease in the water contact angle, making the scaffolds more hydrophilic and improving cellular adhesion and proliferation.

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The human body is a sophisticated environment for research. There has been progress in developing advanced medical devices and sensors to contribute to recovery and therapy. However, as the field progresses new materials with specific properties are required to maximize recovery and therapy efficiency. Desired properties include materials that can contribute to cell regeneration and proliferation while preventing bacterial biofilm formation. Additionally, the variability in geometries of diseased parts requires improvement in processing to provide case and geometry-specific solutions (Raghavendra et al., 2015). Hence, there is a need for novel biomaterials that better match the native tissue. Their effectiveness and functionality are crucial to the long-term physical activity and health of patients. Carbon-based materials have attracted attention due to their unique characteristics, including mechanical, thermal and optical properties (Martel-Estrada, 2018), and they have been used in the

Additive manufacturing (AM) of orthopedic implants is growing in popularity as it offers almost complete design flexibility and freedom, meaning complex geometries mimicking specific body parts can be easily produced. Novel composite materials with optimized functionalities present opportunities for 3D printing osteoconductive implants with desirable mechanical properties. Standard metals for bone implants, such as titanium and its alloys, are durable and nontoxic but lack bioactivity. Bioactive glasses promote strong bone formation but are susceptible to brittle failure. Metal-bioactive glass composites, however, may combine the mechanical reliability of metals with the bone-bonding ability of bioactive glasses, potentially reducing the incidence of implant failure. Processing such composites by AM paves the way for producing unprecedented bespoke parts with highly porous lattices, whose stiffness can be tailored to meet the mechanical properties of natural bone tissue. This Perspective focuses on titanium-bioactive glass composites, critically discussing their processability by AM and highlighting their potential as a next-generation implantable biomaterial.