Abstract
Porous Titanium-6Aluminum-4Vanadium scaffolds made by electron beam-based additive manufacturing (AM) have emerged as state-of-the-art implant devices. However, there is still limited knowledge on how they influence the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs). In this study, BMSCs are cultured on such porous scaffolds to determine how the scaffolds influence the osteogenic differentiation of the cells. The scaffolds are biocompatible, as revealed by the increasing cell viability. Cells are evenly distributed on the scaffolds after 3 days of culturing followed by an increase in bone matrix development after 21 days of culturing. qPCR analysis provides insight into the cells’ osteogenic differentiation, where RUNX2 expression indicate the onset of differentiation towards osteoblasts. The COL1A1 expression suggests that the differentiated osteoblasts can produce the osteoid. Alkaline phosphatase staining indicates an onset of mineralization at day 7 in OM. The even deposits of calcium at day 21 further supports a successful bone mineralization. This work shines light on the interplay between AM Ti64 scaffolds and bone growth, which may ultimately lead to a new way of creating long lasting bone implants with fast recovery times.
Highlights
Titanium-6 Aluminum-4 Vanadium (Ti64) is a common biomaterial due to its high strength-to-weight ratio, biocompatibility, good corrosion and fatigue resistance [1, 2]
Ti64 samples manufactured by selective laser melting (SLM) are characterized to have higher yield- and ultimate tensile strength, but lower ductility compared to samples manufactured with electron beam melting (EBM) [7]
We provide insight into cell viability revealed by AlamarBlue assays, cell adhesion and matrix formation through microscopic imaging, osteogenic differentiation by mRNA expression of specific genes (RUNX2, COL1A1, BGLAP and SOST) and bone mineralization by alkaline phosphatase activity and calcium staining
Summary
Titanium-6 Aluminum-4 Vanadium (Ti64) is a common biomaterial due to its high strength-to-weight ratio, biocompatibility, good corrosion and fatigue resistance [1, 2]. The stiffness is too high compared to human bone leading to stress shielding, the major cause of implant loosening [3,4,5]. The elastic modulus can be modified, and bone ingrowth into the implant can be facilitated, further increasing the bone-to- 97 Page 2 of 9. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Medicine (2021) 32:97 implant interlocking. Such tailored geometries can be defined by computer aided design (CAD) and manufactured by powder bed-based additive manufacturing (AM), either selective laser melting (SLM) or electron beam melting (EBM) [6]. Ti64 samples manufactured by SLM are characterized to have higher yield- and ultimate tensile strength, but lower ductility compared to samples manufactured with EBM [7]. Due to the FDA-approval of EBM, the EBM process sets the current benchmark in this field [8, 9]
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