Porous tantalum structure integrated on Ti6Al4V base by Laser Powder Bed Fusion for enhanced bony-ingrowth implants: In vitro and in vivo validation

Abstract

Despite the widespread application of Ti6Al4V and tantalum (Ta) in orthopedics, bioinertia and high cost limit their further applicability, respectively, and tremendous efforts have been made on the Ti6Al4V-Ta alloy and Ta coating to address these drawbacks. However, the scaffolds obtained are unsatisfactory. In this study, novel high-interface-strength Ti6Al4V-based porous Ta scaffolds were successfully manufactured using Laser Powder Bed Fusion for the first time, in which porous Ta was directly manufactured on a solid Ti6Al4V substrate. Mechanical testing revealed that the novel scaffolds were biomechanically compatible, and the interfacial bonding strength was as high as 447.5 MPa. In vitro biocompatibility assay, using rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (r-BMSCs), indicated that the novel scaffolds were biocompatible. Alkaline phosphatase and mineralized nodule determination demonstrated that the scaffolds favored the osteogenic differentiation of r-BMSCs. Moreover, scaffolds were implanted into rabbits with femur bone defects, and imaging and histological evaluation identified considerable new bone formation and bone ingrowth, suggesting that the scaffolds were well integrated with the host bone. Overall, these results demonstrated good mechanical compatibility, biocompatibility, and osteointegration performance of the novel Ti6Al4V-based porous Ta scaffold, which possesses great potential for orthopedic clinical applications.

Fabrication, bacteriostasis and osteointegration properties researches of the additively-manufactured porous tantalum scaffolds loading vancomycin

“…ALP is an acknowledged marker of early osteogenesis, which is usually detected using staining and quantification for evaluating inchoate osteogenic differentiation [ 16 ]. After cultured with releasing solution for 3 days, light blue ALP could be found in each group, which distributed uniformly with no significant difference among the groups.…”

“…ALP staining/quantification After culturation for 3 and 7 days, to assess the early osteogenic status, the supernatant was collected for detection of ALP production using ALP kit (Nanjing Jiancheng Bioengineering Institute, China) [ 16 ]. After fixing the BMSCs with 4% PFA for 30 min, ALP staining solution (Yeasen, China) was added and incubated at 37 °C for 5 min, followed by photographing and quantifying with Image-J.…”

Advances in surface modification of tantalum and porous tantalum for rapid osseointegration: A thematic review

“…In addition, tantalum has been found to exert no harmful effects on L929 mammalian cells ( Wauthle et al, 2015 ), human monocytic leukemia cells (THP-1) ( Yang et al, 2021 ), gingival fibroblasts ( Zhang C.-n. et al, 2021 ), and fibroblasts ( Tran et al, 2017 ; Uslu et al, 2020 ), and enhanced the integration of soft tissues around implants. For a recent animal experiment, some researchers ( Lei et al, 2022 ) fabricated a new type of porous tantalum scaffold with high interfacial strength directly on solid Ti6Al4V substrate. This scaffold exhibited good biomechanical properties and the interface bonding strength reached 447.5 MPa When the scaffold was implanted into a rabbit femur defect, imaging and histological examination confirmed abundant new bone formation and bone growth.…”

Improvement in osteogenesis, vascularization, and corrosion resistance of titanium with silicon-nitride doped micro-arc oxidation coatings

“…Due to its good mechanical properties and biocompatibility, titanium (Ti) has been widely used in dental implants ( Chouirfa et al, 2019 ). However, due to surface bioinertia, osseointegration of titanium implants with surrounding bone tissue after implantation remains challenging ( Lei et al, 2021 ). The lack of angiogenic activity of Ti is also another factor contributing to poor osseointegration, as vascularization plays an important role in assisting bone integration and maintaining bone homeostasis in the early post-implantation period ( Zhang and Chen, 2019 ).…”