Bone replacement materials
AssigneeWashington State University
InventorsAmit Bandyopadhyay, Susmita Bose
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Abstract
Particular aspects provide novel devices for bone tissue engineering, comprising a metal or metal-based composite member/material comprising an interior macroporous structure in which porosity may vary from 0-90% (v), the member comprising a surface region having a surface pore size, porosity, and composition designed to encourage cell growth and adhesion thereon, to provide a device suitable for bone tissue engineering in a recipient subject. In certain aspects, the device further comprises a gradient of pore size, porosity, and material composition extending from the surface region throughout the interior of the device, wherein the gradient transition is continuous, discontinuous or seamless and the growth of cells extending from the surface region inward is promoted.
Claims20
A method of producing a porous metal or metal-based composite device, comprising:
- obtaining input data from bone imaging scans of a patient;
- selecting at least one of a density, a modulus of elasticity or a compression strength of a device for bone tissue engineering based on the obtained input data from the bone imaging scans of the patient;
- and
- forming the device for bone tissue engineering of a biocompatible metal or metal-based composite to have the selected at least one of the density, the modulus of elasticity, or the compression strength, wherein forming the device includes:
- focusing a laser onto a portion of a substrate;
- introducing particles of the biocompatible metal or metal-based composite into the focused laser in a laser-material interaction zone;
- controlling a laser energy density of the focused laser to only partially melt surfaces of the introduced particles in the laser-material interaction zone, thereby joining the particles together due to the presence of a liquid metal at the surfaces of the particles to create porosity between adjoining particles;
- depositing the introduced particles on the portion of the substrate and removing the focused laser from the portion of the substrate to allow the deposited particles to solidify and form a part of the device;
- and
- repeating the focusing, introducing, controlling, and depositing operations on additional portions of the substrate to form the device having an exterior surface, an interior voided core area, and a porous exterior surface region, and wherein a porosity vol% gradient increases from the exterior surface, through the porous exterior surface region, and toward the interior voided core area.
A method of producing a device for bone tissue engineering, comprising:
- fabricating, using a solid freeform fabrication technique, a member of a biocompatible metal or metal-based composite, including:
- focusing a laser onto a portion of a substrate;
- introducing particles of the biocompatible metal or metal-based composite into the focused laser in a laser-material interaction zone;
- only partially melting surfaces of the introduced particles with the focused laser in the laser-material interaction zone, thereby joining the particles together due to presence of a liquid metal at surfaces of the particles to create porosity between adjoining particles;
- depositing the introduced particles on the portion of the substrate and subsequently allowing the deposited particles to solidify to form a part of the member;
- and
- repeating the focusing, introducing, only partially melting, and depositing operations on additional portions of the substrate to form the member having an exterior surface, an interior voided core area of void fraction between 50% and 90% by volume, and a porous exterior surface region configured to encourage cell growth and adhesion thereon, wherein a porosity vol % gradient increases from the exterior surface, through the porous exterior surface region, and toward the interior voided core area.
A method of producing a device for bone tissue engineering having a member of a biocompatible metal or metal-based composite, comprising:
- focusing a laser onto a portion of a substrate;
- introducing particles of the biocompatible metal or metal-based composite into the focused laser in a laser-material interaction zone, wherein the focused laser having laser energy density in the laser-material interaction zone such that the focused laser only partially melts surfaces of the introduced particles without completely melting the introduced particles, thereby joining the introduced particles together due to presence of a liquid metal at surfaces of the particles to create porosity between adjoining particles;
- depositing the introduced particles on the portion of the substrate and subsequently allowing the deposited particles to solidify to form a part of the member;
- and
- repeating the focusing, introducing, and depositing operations on additional portions of the substrate to form additional parts of the member according to a selected porosity profile having an exterior surface, an interior voided core area of void fraction between 50% and 90% by volume, and a porous exterior surface region, wherein a porosity vol% gradient increases from the exterior surface, through the porous exterior surface region, and toward the interior voided core area.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.