Fabrication and Characterization of Novel ۳D Porous Titanium-۶Al-۴V Scaffold for Orthopedic Application Using Selective Laser Melting Technique

The use of metallic ۳D printers in medical manufacturing has enabled the creation of complex medical products customized to each patient's specific anatomical information through CAD/CAM. This technology has allowed the examination of three-dimensional (۳D) bone scaffolds as models for human bone geometry. Gradually, ۳D printing has become a promising tool for creating grafts and scaffolds for bone tissue engineering, particularly in orthopedic fractures. The present study explores the use of a medical-grade titanium alloy coated with chitosan containing wollastonite nanoparticles (WS-NPs) at varying concentrations (۰, ۵, ۱۰, and ۱۵ wt%) to fabricate a ۳D porous metallic scaffold using Selective Laser Melting (SLM). Materials characterization was performed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, while mechanical tests were conducted to determine the compressive strength, fracture toughness, elastic modulus, and Poisson ratio of the samples. The study involved fabricating a ۳D porous metallic scaffold using SLM and a medical-grade titanium alloy coated with chitosan containing wollastonite nanoparticles (WS-NPs) at varying concentrations (۰, ۵, ۱۰, and ۱۵ wt%). The samples were characterized using SEM and XRD analysis, and mechanical tests were conducted to determine their properties. The samples were also subjected to a Simulated Body Fluid (SBF) and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) test to evaluate their bioactivity and biodegradation rate, as well as an MTT toxicity test. The feasibility of the prostheses was tested for ۱, ۳, ۷, and ۱۴ days, and the results were analyzed. The SEM images and XRD analysis showed the surfaces of scaffold parts produced in nanometer dimensions, confirming the corresponding coating as well as the phases in the scaffold. The sample containing ۱۰ wt% WS-NPs had the highest elastic modulus of about ۴۲۰ MPa and compressive strength with a coating containing ۱۰ wt% WS-NPs in a chitosan matrix. The results showed that the percentage of porosity changed from ۵۲% to ۴۸% in sample ۲ and sample ۳, respectively, as the compressive strength increased. The third sample exhibited promising biological behavior for orthopedic applications. The objective of this work is to fabricate and characterize a ۳D porous metallic scaffold coated with chitosan containing wollastonite nanoparticles for bone tissue engineering applications. The study successfully fabricated a ۳D porous metallic scaffold using SLM and a medical-grade titanium alloy-coated with chitosan containing wollastonite nanoparticles (WS-NPs) at varying concentrations. The results demonstrated that the sample containing ۱۰ wt% WS-NPs had the highest elastic modulus and compressive strength. The third sample exhibited potential for orthopedic applications due to its promising biological behavior.

کلیدواژه ها:

Metal ۳D printing ، Freeze drying ، wollastonite ، Bio-nanocomposite ، Mechanical properties