Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
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Chemical etching of Ti-6Al-4V biomaterials fabricated by selective laser melting enhances mesenchymal stromal cell mineralization

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journal contribution
posted on 2024-05-01, 16:06 authored by Conor O'Keeffe, Marcin Kotlarz, Inês F Gonçalves, Caitríona Lally, Daniel J Kelly

Porous titanium scaffolds fabricated by powder bed fusion additive manufacturing techniques have been widely adopted for orthopedic and bone tissue engineering applications. Despite the many advantages of this approach, topological defects inherited from the fabrication process are well understood to negatively affect mechanical properties and pose a high risk if dislodged after implantation. Consequently, there is a need for further post-process surface cleaning. Traditional techniques such as grinding or polishing are not suited to lattice structures, due to lack of a line of sight to internal features. Chemical etching is a promising alternative; however, it remains unclear if changes to surface properties associated with such protocols will influence how cells respond to the material surface. In this study, we explored the response of bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) to Ti-6Al-4V whose surface was exposed to different durations of chemical etching. Cell morphology was influenced by local topological features inherited from the SLM fabrication process. On the as-built surface, topological nonhomogeneities such as partially adhered powder drove a stretched anisotropic cellular morphology, with large areas of the cell suspended across the nonhomogeneous powder interface. As the etching process was continued, surface defects were gradually removed, and cell morphology appeared more isotropic and was suggestive of MSC differentiation along an osteoblastic-lineage. This was accompanied by more extensive mineralization, indicative of progression along an osteogenic pathway. These findings point to the benefit of post-process chemical etching of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V biomaterials targeting orthopedic applications. 

Funding

Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) under grant number 12/RC/2278 and 17/SP/4721

Johnson & Johnson 3D Printing Innovation & Customer Solutions, Johnson & Johnson Services Inc.

European Regional Development Fund / European Structural and Investment Fund

History

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request

Comments

The original article is available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/

Published Citation

O'Keeffe C, Kotlarz M, Gonçalves IF, Lally C, Kelly DJ. Chemical etching of Ti-6Al-4V biomaterials fabricated by selective laser melting enhances mesenchymal stromal cell mineralization. J Biomed Mater Res A. 2024

Publication Date

21 March 2024

PubMed ID

38515311

Department/Unit

  • Amber (Advanced Material & Bioengineering Research) Centre
  • Anatomy and Regenerative Medicine

Publisher

John Wiley & Sons

Version

  • Published Version (Version of Record)