A Comparison of Biocompatibility of a Titanium Alloy Fabricated by Electron Beam Melting and Selective Laser Melting.

Hong Wang,Chao Wang,Xinying Tan,Changkui Liu,Min Hu,Bingjing Zhao,Jie Zheng

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0158513

Abstract

Electron beam melting (EBM) and selective laser melting (SLM) are two advanced rapid prototyping manufacturing technologies capable of fabricating complex structures and geometric shapes from metallic materials using computer tomography (CT) and Computer-aided Design (CAD) data. Compared to traditional technologies used for metallic products, EBM and SLM alter the mechanical, physical and chemical properties, which are closely related to the biocompatibility of metallic products. In this study, we evaluate and compare the biocompatibility, including cytocompatibility, haemocompatibility, skin irritation and skin sensitivity of Ti6Al4V fabricated by EBM and SLM. The results were analysed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test. Both the EBM and SLM Ti6Al4V exhibited good cytobiocompatibility. The haemolytic ratios of the SLM and EBM were 2.24% and 2.46%, respectively, which demonstrated good haemocompatibility. The EBM and SLM Ti6Al4V samples showed no dermal irritation when exposed to rabbits. In a delayed hypersensitivity test, no skin allergic reaction from the EBM or the SLM Ti6Al4V was observed in guinea pigs. Based on these results, Ti6Al4V fabricated by EBM and SLM were good cytobiocompatible, haemocompatible, non-irritant and non-sensitizing materials. Although the data for cell adhesion, proliferation, ALP activity and the haemolytic ratio was higher for the SLM group, there were no significant differences between the different manufacturing methods.

Highlights

Rapid prototyping (RP) is a series of advanced manufacturing technologies and is being implemented in industrial and biomedical areas [1,2,3,4,5]
The data for cell adhesion, proliferation, ALP activity and the haemolytic ratio was higher for the selective laser melting (SLM) group, there were no significant differences between the different manufacturing methods
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) grow well and proliferated with time extended on three Ti6Al4V samples indicated Ti6Al4V samples with Electron beam melting (EBM) and SLM have no toxic effect on MSCs

Summary

Introduction

Rapid prototyping (RP) is a series of advanced manufacturing technologies and is being implemented in industrial and biomedical areas [1,2,3,4,5]. Due to the different fabrication processes, the microstructure, mechanical and chemical properties of EBM and SLM metal products are different from those fabricated from wrought, cast or powder metallurgy materials [10,11,12,13,14,15]. Rafi et al showed that the tensile strength and fatigue properties in SLM Ti6Al4V samples is higher than for EBM Ti6Al4V samples [14] They attributed the difference in mechanical properties to the differences in the microstructures. Due to the high efficiency, lack of tooling required, complex geometric structures capable of being fabricated from CT or CAD data, EBM and SLM are two superior metal manufacturing methods for medical applications.

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Conclusion