Highly porous, low elastic modulus 316L stainless steel scaffold prepared by selective laser melting.
Recently, porous metallic materials have been extensively studied as candidates for use in the fabrication of scaffolds and augmentations to repair trabecular bone defects, e.g. in surroundings of joint replacements. Fabricating these complex structures by using common approaches (e.g., casting and machining) is very challenging. Therefore, rapid prototyping techniques, such as selective laser melting (SLM), have been investigated for these applications. In this study, we characterized a highly porous (87 vol.%) 316L stainless steel scaffold prepared by SLM. 316L steel was chosen because it presents a biomaterial still widely used for fabrication of joint replacements and, from the practical point of view, use of the same material for fabrication of an augmentation and a joint replacement is beneficial for corrosion prevention. The results are compared to the reported properties of two representative nonporous 316L stainless steels prepared either by SLM or casting and subsequent hot forging. The microstructural and mechanical properties and the surface chemical composition and interaction with the cells were investigated. The studied material exhibited mechanical properties that were similar to those of trabecular bone (compressive modulus of elasticity ~0.15GPa, compressive yield strength ~3MPa) and cytocompatibility after one day that was similar to that of wrought 316L stainless steel, which is a commonly used biomaterial. Based on the obtained results, SLM is a suitable method for the fabrication of porous 316L stainless steel scaffolds with highly porous structures.
Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic; Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (AS CR), Na Slovance 1999/2, 182 21 Prague 8, Czech Republic. Electronic address: capekj@fzu.cz.
Jaroslav
J
Čapek
Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
Markéta
M
Machová
Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
Michaela
M
Fousová
Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
Jiří
J
Kubásek
Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
Dalibor
D
Vojtěch
Department of Metals and Corrosion Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
Jaroslav
J
Fojt
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
Eva
E
Jablonská
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
Jan
J
Lipov
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic.
Tomáš
T
Ruml
D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D048430:Cell Shape; D055119:Elastic Modulus / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007834:Lasers; D008422:Materials Testing / Q000379:methods*; D056951:Photoelectron Spectroscopy; D016062:Porosity; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013718:Tensile Strength / Q000187:drug effects
C109374:SUS 316L; D013193:Stainless Steel; D007501:Iron
316L stainless steel; Porous implants; Scaffolds; Selective laser melting