Powder metallurgical Ti-Mg metal-metal composites facilitate osteoconduction and osseointegration for orthopedic application

Abstract

In this work, TiMg metal-metal composites (MMCs) were successfully fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS). In vitro, the proliferation and differentiation of SaOS-2 cells in response to TiMg metal-metal composites (MMCs) were investigated. In vivo, a rat model with femur condyle defect was employed, and TiMg MMCs implants were embedded into the femur condyles. Results showed that TiMg MMCs exhibited enhanced cytocompatibility to SaOS-2 cells than pure Ti. The micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) results showed that the volume of bone trabecula was significantly more abundant around TiMg implants than around Ti implants, indicating that more active new-bone formed around TiMg MMCs implants. Hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining analysis revealed significantly greater osteointegration around TiMg implants than that around Ti implants. Keywords: Powder metallurgy, Composites, Osteoconduction, Osseointegration