posted on 2024-01-12, 15:33authored bySushant Ciliveri, Amit Bandyopadhyay
Commercially pure titanium (CpTi),
a bioinert metal, is used as
an implant material at low load-bearing sites and as a porous coating
on Ti6Al4V at high load-bearing sites. There is an unmet need for
metallic biomaterials to improve osseointegration and inherent antimicrobial
resistance. In this study, we have added 1 wt % SiO2 and
3 wt % Cu to the CpTi matrix and processed via metal additive manufacturing
(AM). Si4+ ions promote angiogenesis and osteogenesis.
CpTi-SiO2 composition exhibited 4.5 times higher bone formation
at the bone–implant interface over CpTi in an in vivo study with a rat distal femur model. In vitro bacterial
studies with Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus bacterium revealed 85% antibacterial efficacy by CpTi-SiO2-3Cu than CpTi. CpTi-SiO2-3Cu did not show any inflammatory
markers in vivo, indicating the absence of cytotoxicity,
but displayed delayed osseointegration compared to CpTi-SiO2. CpTi-SiO2-3Cu displayed 3-fold higher mineralized bone
formation than CpTi. Our results emphasize the synergistic effect
of SiO2 and Cu addition in CpTi, promoting enhanced early
stage osseointegration and inherent antibacterial efficacy, contributing
toward implant longevity and stability in vivo.