Physiochemical and biological evaluation of SLM manufactured Ti-10Ta-2Nb-2Zr alloy for biomedical implant applications.

Titanium alloys, such as Ti-10Ta-2Nb-2Zr, are promising biomaterials due to their excellent biocompatibility and low Young's modulus. The Ti-10Ta-2Nb-2Zr (TTNZ) samples herein were manufactured by selective laser melting (SLM) and the novel material was evaluated as a dental implant in vitro and in vivo. The microstructure, mechanical properties, electrochemical behaviours, cytotoxicity, haemocompatibility and osteogenic differentiation were systematically investigated. Based on the tensile test results, the as-printed TTNZ samples had an elongation of 20.23+/-1.95%, an ultimate tensile strength of 646.61+/-24.96 MPa and a Young's modulus of 23.72+/-1.18 GPa. According to the biocompatible value, the as-printed TTNZ sample exhibited no cell cytotoxicity, and it showed even better cell adhesion ability than that of the as-printed Ti-6Al-4V and wrought Ti-6Al-4V samples. The haemolysis percentage of the as-printed TTNZ sample was 0.629+/-0.363%. Moreover, the as-printed TTNZ sample facilitated protein adsorption and osteogenic differentiation of human osteoblast-like (MG-63) cells in vitro. The in vivo data also demonstrated the histocompatibility of the as-printed TTNZ. In summary, the as-printed TTNZ developed in this study demonstrated good biocompatibility, low stress shielding, excellent ductility and great osteogenic differentiation. These results indicated that as-printed TTNZ alloys can be a promising for end-use human biomedical applications.