Additive manufacturing of novel Ti-30Nb-2Zr biomimetic scaffolds for successful limb salvage

Abstract

Osteosarcoma is a type of bone cancer mainly observed in children and young adults affecting 3.4 million people per year. In the present study, Ti-30Nb-2Zr, a promising next-generation biomedical implant material was fabricated in the form of a porous scaffold using the selective laser melting (SLM) additive manufacturing route. Here, we quantitatively evaluated the bio-functionality, Young's modulus, and metal oxidative stress induced by the implant to delineate the tumor ablation ability of Ti-30Nb-2Zr scaffold. The results indicated that Ti-30Nb-2Zr scaffolds have superior osteointegration with L929 murine cells through activation of the AKT and β-catenin protein pathways. Results of fluorescent microscopy delineate the superior cell motility, protein binding ability, and adhesion of fibroblasts owing to the porous nature of the scaffold. Moreover, it demonstrated excellent capabilities in impeding post-surgical tumor recurrence, and more interestingly printed scaffolds almost matched Young's modulus of human bones. Therefore, this novel 3-D printed scaffold material may have high clinical translational potential for successful limb salvage in tumor-induced bone defect management.