Biocompatible porous titanium scaffolds produced using a novel space holder technique

We describe a new fabrication strategy for production of porous titanium scaffolds for skeletal implants which provides a promising new approach to repair and remodel damaged bone tissue. The new strategy involves powder sintering of titanium powder, employing pharmaceutical sugar pellets as temporary space holders, to facilitate production of porous scaffolds with structures optimized for mechanical performance and osseointegration of implants. The spherical sugar pellets, with controlled size fractions and excellent biocompatibility, are easily removed by dissolution prior to sintering providing an ideal space holder material for controlled synthesis of titanium scaffolds with desired porosities and pore sizes. The scaffolds contain pores with high degrees of sphericity and interconnectivity which impart excellent mechanical properties and superior biocompatibility to the structures. Scaffolds with 40% porosity and a pore size range of 300-425 μm exhibited an effective Young's modulus of 16.4±3.5 GPa and strength of 176±6 MPa, which closely mimics the properties of human bone, and were also able to support cell adhesion, viability and spreading in cell culture tests. Porous titanium scaffolds manufactured by this approach have excellent potential for hard tissue engineering applications.