Abstract
Large bone defects and nonunions are serious complications that are caused by extensive trauma or tumour. As traditional therapies fail to repair these critical-sized defects, tissue engineering scaffolds can be used to regenerate the damaged tissue. Highly porous titanium scaffolds, produced by selective laser sintering with mechanical properties in range of trabecular bone (compressive strength 35 MPa and modulus 73 MPa), can be used in these orthopaedic applications, if a stable mechanical fixation is provided. Hydroxyapatite coatings are generally considered essential and/or beneficial for bone formation; however, debonding of the coatings is one of the main concerns. We hypothesised that the titanium scaffolds have an intrinsic potential to induce bone formation without the need for a hydroxyapatite coating. In this paper, titanium scaffolds coated with hydroxyapatite using electrochemical method were fabricated and osteoinductivity of coated and noncoated scaffolds was compared in vitro. Alizarin Red quantification confirmed osteogenesis independent of coating. Bone formation and ingrowth into the titanium scaffolds were evaluated in sheep stifle joints. The examinations after 3 months revealed 70% bone ingrowth into the scaffold confirming its osteoinductive capacity. It is shown that the developed titanium scaffold has an intrinsic capacity for bone formation and is a suitable scaffold for bone tissue engineering.
Highlights
Massive traumatic injuries or tumour resections are among the factors which can contribute to substantial bone loss [1, 2]
We speculate that the significant increase in bone regeneration in the defects treated with porous titanium scaffolds compared to collagen-HAp scaffold may be related to the scaffold structure and its mechanical properties, as it possesses an interconnected porous structure and mechanical properties in range of trabecular bone
We have developed a highly porous (72%) Ti scaffold for bone tissue engineering using additive manufacturing technique
Summary
Massive traumatic injuries or tumour resections are among the factors which can contribute to substantial bone loss [1, 2]. Thanks to a spontaneous capacity for regeneration, most bone lesions, such as fractures, can be repaired with conventional therapies. In cases of large defects and osseous congenital deformities, bone grafts (e.g., xeno-, allo-, and autografts) or substitutes are needed to aid healing [4]. The current gold standard for repair of large bone defects [1] is autograft where host bone is removed from another non-load-bearing site to fill the defect. The complication rate is as high as 30% due to donor site morbidity, pain, hematoma, and inflammation. In many cases, this has been proven a challenging treatment for critical-sized defects [1]
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