Recent progress in 3D-printed polyaryletherketone (PAEK)-based high-performance polymeric implants for musculoskeletal reconstructions

Polyaryletherketones (PAEK) have been hitherto the most promising high-performance semicrystalline thermoplastic polymers (HPPs) for several biomedical applications. These polymers make a competent replacement to implantable metals due to their biocompatibility, osteointegration properties, substantial bond strength, pliability, radiolucency and a comparable bone-like flexural modulus. Lately, additive manufacturing (AM) of customized 3D-printed patient-specific implants (PSI) using rapid prototyping techniques has been used for several surgical and medical implantations. Also, rapid technological progresses viz., fused deposition modelling and selective laser sintering in consort with enhanced imaging know-hows have streamlined the critical glitches of conventional HPPs processability with directing them to manufacture medically proficient 3D-PSI. Thus, PAEK and its polymers could not only be tailored into end-use implantable medical devices but also fit into newer AM technology-mediated biomedical arenas for other unexplored HPPs. This review summarizes the till date research on 3D-printed PAEK implant technology and its potential possibilities for their modernization and expansion in diverse musculoskeletal and soft tissue applications.