3D Printed Surface Modified Porous Metal Coatings for Load-bearing Implants

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Though non-cemented implants are becoming popular among both traditional and younger patients, a key challenge still remains with these implants i.e., early stage osseointegration. Porous metal coated implants take longer time to bond with the surrounding bone tissue than cemented implants. Moreover, current manufacturing practices for porous metal coating results in a weak interface between the coating and the implant as evidenced from many recalls of coated implants due to interface failures. Our application is focused on surface modified three dimensionally printed (3DP) porous tantalum (Ta) and titanium (Ti) coating for load- bearing implants to improve early-stage osseointegration abilities. Both Ta and Ti have excellent biocompatibility and are safe to use in vivo. The low modulus of elasticity of porous coatings allow for better physiologic load transfer and relative preservation of bone stock. The objective of this proposed research is to test our central hypothesis, which is porous surface modified 3D printed Ta or Ti coating on Ti can enhance early stage in vivo tissue integration ability in load-bearing implants. The rationale is that once we delineate the effect of porosity and surface modification along with mechanical, in vitro and in vivo biological properties, we can achieve fundamental information on tissue integration for porous Ta and Ti coated implants, and identify optimal material properties that can help us design bone replacement devices based on application needs. Our long range goal is to design and manufacture surface modified reliable porous Ta and Ti coatings with strong interfacial bonding to improve early stage osseointegration abilities that is comparable to bioactive HA coated implants (the gold standard). Our program has three specific aims - (1) To establish processing parameters for porous Ta and Ti coatings on medical grade commercial Ti6Al4V alloy using laser-based 3D printing; (2) To measure mechanical and in vitro biological properties of surface modified Ta- and Ti-coating on Ti6Al4V alloys; and (3) To measure in vivo biological properties of surface modified Ta- and Ti-coating on Ti6Al4V alloys. The success of our program lies with innovative and translational laser-based 3D printing of porous Ta and Ti coatings that will be safer to use due to reliable and mechanically strong interface with improved early-stage osseointegration ability because of both micro- and nano-scale surface modification.