In this work, we showed for the first time that using topological design of additively manufactured porous Zn for controlling its mechanical properties and degradation behavior is promising, thereby rendering flexibility to the material to meet a variety of clinical requirements.
This study shows for the first time that AM of porous Mg may provide distinct possibilities to adjust biodegradation profile through topological design and open up unprecedented opportunities to develop multifunctional bone substituting materials that mimic bone properties and enable full regeneration of critical-size load-bearing bony defects.
We found that the functionally graded design controlled the sequence of crack initiation during the fatigue test, which occurred early in the thicker struts and moved towards the thinner struts over time. The theoretical fatigue life models suggest that optimizing the functionally graded structure could be used as an effective means to improve the fatigue life of AM porous zinc.
Here, we present the first ever report on AM functionally graded biodegradable porous metallic biomaterials. We made use of a diamond unit cell for the topological design of four different types of porous structures. Specimens were then fabricated from pure iron powder using selective laser melting (SLM). It was found that the topological design with functional gradients controlled the fluid flow, mass transport properties and biodegradation behavior of the AM porous iron specimens.
