Vamsi Krishna Balla

Porous tantalum structures for bone implants: Fabrication, mechanical and in vitro biological properties

The relatively high cost of manufacturing and the inability to produce modular implants have limited the acceptance of tantalum, in spite of its excellent in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility. In this article, we report how to process Ta to create net-shape porous structures with varying porosity using Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS) for the first time. Porous Ta samples with relative densities between 45% and 73% have been successfully fabricated and characterized for their mechanical properties. In vitro cell materials interactions, using a human fetal osteoblast cell line, have been assessed on these porous Ta structures and compared with porous Ti control samples. The results show that the Youngs modulus of porous Ta can be tailored between 1.5 and 20 GPa by changing the pore volume fraction between 27% and 55%. In vitro biocompatibility in terms of MTT assay and immunochemistry study showed excellent cellular adherence, growth and differentiation with abundant extracellular matrix formation on porous Ta structures compared to porous Ti control. These results indicate that porous Ta structures can promote enhanced/early biological fixation. The enhanced in vitro cell-material interactions on the porous Ta surface are attributed to its chemistry, its high wettability and its greater surface energy relative to porous Ti. Our results show that these laser-processed porous Ta structures can find numerous applications, particularly among older patients, for metallic implants because of their excellent bioactivity.

Influence of porosity on mechanical properties and in vivo response of Ti6Al4V implants

Metallic biomaterials are widely used to restore the lost structure and functions of human bone. Due to the large number of joint replacements, there is a growing demand for new and improved orthopedic implants. More specifically, there is a need for novel load-bearing metallic implants with low effective modulus matching that of bone in order to reduce stress shielding and consequently increase the in vivo lifespan of the implant. In this study, we have fabricated porous Ti6Al4V alloy structures, using laser engineered net shaping (LENS), to demonstrate that advanced manufacturing techniques such as LENS can be used to fabricate low-modulus, tailored porosity implants with a wide variety of metals/alloys, where the porosity can be designed in areas based on the patients need to enhance biological fixation and achieve long-term in vivo stability. The effective modulus of Ti6Al4V alloy structures has been tailored between 7 and 60 GPa and porous Ti alloy structures containing 23-32 vol.% porosity showed modulus equivalent to human cortical bone. In vivo behavior of porous Ti6Al4V alloy samples in male Sprague-Dawley rats for 16 weeks demonstrated a significant increase in calcium within the implants, indicating excellent biological tissue ingrowth through interconnected porosity. In vivo results also showed that total amount of porosity plays an important role in tissue ingrowth.

Microwave-sintered 3D printed tricalcium phosphate scaffolds for bone tissue engineering

This study reports the manufacturing process of 3D interconnected macroporous tricalcium phosphate (TCP) scaffolds with controlled internal architecture by direct 3D printing (3DP), and high mechanical strength obtained by microwave sintering. TCP scaffolds with 27%, 35% and 41% designed macroporosity with pore sizes of 500u2009μm, 750u2009μm and 1000u2009μm, respectively, were manufactured by direct 3DP. These scaffolds were then sintered at 1150u2009°C and 1250u2009°C in conventional electric muffle and microwave furnaces, respectively. Total open porosity between 42% and 63% was obtained in the sintered scaffolds due to the presence of intrinsic micropores along with designed pores. A significant increase in compressive strength between 46% and 69% was achieved by microwave compared to conventional sintering as a result of efficient densification. Maximum compressive strengths of 10.95u2009±u20091.28u2009MPa and 6.62u2009±u20090.67u2009MPa were achieved for scaffolds with 500u2009μm designed pores (~ 400u2009μm after sintering) sintered in microwave and conventional furnaces, respectively. An increase in cell density with a decrease in macropore size was observed during in vitro cell‐material interactions using human osteoblast cells. Histomorphological analysis revealed that the presence of both micro‐ and macropores facilitated osteoid‐like new bone formation when tested in femoral defects of Sprague–Dawley rats. Our results show that bioresorbable 3D‐printed TCP scaffolds have great potential in tissue engineering applications for bone tissue repair and regeneration. Copyright

Direct laser processing of a tantalum coating on titanium for bone replacement structures.

Recently tantalum is gaining more attention as a new metallic biomaterial as it has been shown to be bioactive and biologically bonds to bone. However, the relatively high cost of manufacture and an inability to produce a modular all Ta implant has limited its widespread acceptance. In this study we have successfully deposited a Ta coating on Ti using laser engineered net shaping (LENS) to enhance the osseointegration properties. In vitro biocompatibility study, using human osteoblast cell line hFOB, showed excellent cellular adherence and growth with abundant extracellular matrix formation on the Ta coating surface compared with the Ti surface. A six times higher living cell density was observed on the Ta coating than on the Ti control surface by MMT assay. A high surface energy and wettability of the Ta surface were observed to contribute to its significantly better cell-material interactions. Also, these dense Ta coatings do not suffer from low fatigue resistance due to the absence of porosity and a sharp interface between the coating and the substrate, which is a major concern for porous coatings used for enhanced/early biological fixation.

Fabrication of compositionally and structurally graded Ti-TiO2 structures using laser engineered net shaping (LENS).

Novel structures with functional gradation in composition and structure were successfully made in Ti-TiO(2) combination using laser engineered net shaping. The addition of fully dense, compositionally graded TiO(2) ceramic on porous Ti significantly increased the surface wettability and hardness. The graded structures with varying concentrations of TiO(2) on the top surface were found to be non-toxic and biocompatible. In addition, the higher wettability of surfaces with TiO(2) can enhance their ability to form chemisorbed lubricating films, which can potentially lower the friction coefficient against ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene liner, thus reducing its wear rate. These unitized structures with open porosity on one side and hard, low friction surface on the other side can eliminate the need for multiple parts with different compositions for load-bearing implants such as total hip prostheses.

Laser processed TiN reinforced Ti6Al4V composite coatings.

The purpose of this first generation investigation is to evaluate fabrication, in vitro cytotoxicity, cell-material interactions and tribological performance of TiN particle reinforced Ti6Al4V composite coatings for potential wear resistant load bearing implant applications. The microstructural analysis of the composites was performed using scanning electron microscope and phase analysis was done with X-ray diffraction. In vitro cell-material interactions, using human fetal osteoblast cell line, have been assessed on these composite coatings and compared with Ti6Al4V alloy control samples. The tribological performance of the coatings were evaluated, in simulated body fluids, up to 1000 m sliding distance under 10 N normal load. The results show that the composite coatings contain distinct TiN particles embedded in α+β phase matrix. The average top surface hardness of Ti6Al4V alloy increased from 394±8 HV to 1138±61 HV with 40 wt% TiN reinforcement. Among the composite coatings, the coatings reinforced with 40 wt% TiN exhibited the highest wear resistance of 3.74×10(-6) mm(3)/Nm, which is lower than the wear rate, 1.04×10(-5) mm(3)/Nm, of laser processed CoCrMo alloy tested under identical experimental conditions. In vitro biocompatibility study showed that these composite coatings were non-toxic and provides superior cell-material interactions compared to Ti6Al4V control, as a result of their high surface energy. In summary, excellent in vitro wear resistance and biocompatibility of present laser processed TiN reinforced Ti6Al4V alloy composite coatings clearly show their potential as wear resistant contact surfaces for load bearing implant applications.

Bone cell-materials interactions and Ni ion release of anodized equiatomic NiTi alloy.

A laser processed NiTi alloy was anodized for different times in H(2)SO(4) electrolyte with varying pH to create biocompatible surfaces with low Ni ion release as well as bioactive surfaces to enhance biocompatibility and bone cell-material interactions. The anodized surfaces were assessed for their in vitro cell-material interactions using human fetal osteoblast (hFOB) cells for 3, 7 and 11 days, and Ni ion release up to 8 weeks in simulated body fluids. The results were correlated with the surface morphologies of anodized surfaces characterized using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results show that anodization creates a surface with nano/micro-roughness depending on the anodization conditions. The hydrophilicity of the NiTi surface was found to improve after anodization, as shown by the lower contact angles in cell medium, which dropped from 32° to <5°. The improved wettability of anodized surfaces is further corroborated by their high surface energy, comparable with that of commercially pure Ti. Relatively high surface energies, especially the polar component, and nano/micro surface features of anodized surfaces significantly increased the number of living cells and their adherence and growth on these surfaces. Finally, a significant drop in Ni ion release from 268±11 to 136±15 ppb was observed for NiTi surfaces after anodization. This work indicates that anodization of a NiTi alloy has a positive influence on the surface energy and surface morphology, which in turn improves bone cell-material interactions and reduces Ni ion release in vitro.

Laser-assisted Zr/ZrO2 coating on Ti for load-bearing implants

Oxidized Zr alloys have been shown to exhibit lower friction and superior wear properties, suggesting that they could be used in hip and knee implants. However, conventional oxidation of Zr alloys above 500 degrees C, in dry air, for several hours has been shown to have detrimental effects on the substrates properties. In this work, we deposited pure Zr on Ti, then oxidized the coating using a continuous-wave Nd:YAG laser, which facilitated localized heating to elevated temperatures without affecting the substrate. Laser-assisted oxidation resulted in a 7microm thick fully dense ZrO(2) layer on Zr in which an increase in oxidation kinetics was evident due to an increase in the laser power and/or the oxygen partial pressure. Due to its high surface energy and wettability, the wear rate of laser-oxidized Zr was two orders of magnitude less compared to that of as-deposited Zr. The oxidized coatings showed comparable in vitro biocompatibility to that of pure Ti and excellent in vitro cell-material interactions. This article reports the processing of Zr/ZrO(2) coatings on Ti using lasers, and the influence of laser parameters and oxygen partial pressure on the coatings mechanical, microstructural, wear and in vitro biological properties using human osteoblast cells.

Microstructure, mechanical and wear properties of laser surface melted Ti6Al4V alloy

Laser surface melting (LSM) of Ti6Al4V alloy was carried out with an aim to improve properties such as microstructure and wear for implant applications. The alloy substrate was melted at 250W and 400W at a scan velocity of 5mm/s, with input energy of 42J/mm(2) and 68J/mm(2), respectively. The results showed that equiaxed α+β microstructure of the substrate changes to mixture of acicular α in β matrix after LSM due to high cooling rates in the range of 2.25×10(-3)K/s and 1.41×10(-3)K/s during LSM. Increasing the energy input increased the thickness of remelted region from 779 to 802µm and 1173 to 1199µm. Similarly, as a result of slow cooling rates under present experimental conditions, the grain size of the alloy increased from 4.8μm to 154-199μm. However, the hardness of the Ti6Al4V alloy increased due to LSM melting and resulted in lowest in vitro wear rate of 3.38×10(-4)mm(3)/Nm compared to untreated substrate with a wear rate of 6.82×10(-4)mm(3)/Nm.

Compositionally graded hydroxyapatite/tricalcium phosphate coating on Ti by laser and induction plasma.

In this study we report the fabrication of compositionally graded hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings on Ti by combining laser engineering net shaping (LENS) and radio frequency induction plasma spraying processes. Initially, HA powder was embedded in the Ti substrates using LENS, forming a Ti-HA composite layer. Later, RF induction plasma spraying was used to deposit HA on these Ti substrates with a Ti-HA composite layer on top. Phase analysis by X-ray diffraction indicated phase transformation of HA to β-tricalcium phosphate in the laser processed coating. Laser processed coatings showed the formation of a metallurgically sound and diffused substrate-coating interface, which significantly increased the coating hardness to 922 ± 183 Hv from that of the base metal hardness of 189 ± 22 Hv. In the laser processed multilayer coating a compositionally graded nature was successfully achieved, however, with severe cracking and a consequent decrease in the flexural strength of the coating. To obtain a structurally stable coating with a composition gradient across the coating thickness a phase pure HA layer was sprayed on top of the laser processed single layer coatings using induction plasma spray. The plasma sprayed HA coatings were strongly adherent to the LENS-TCP coatings, with adhesive bond strength of 21 MPa. In vitro biocompatibility of these coatings, using human fetal osteoblast cells, showed a clear improvement in cellular activity from uncoated Ti compared with LENS-TCP-coated Ti and reached a maximum in the plasma sprayed HA coating.