Toward 3D Printed Bioactive Titanium Scaffolds with Bimodal Pore Size Distribution for Bone Ingrowth

Inkjet 3D printing as a versatile rapid manufacturing method was utilized for making titanium scaffolds with customized pores and geometry. A suitable binder/powder/solvent system was employed to make titanium printable and the parts were subjected to a firing process for strengthening. Mechanical stiffness of the part was tailored by varying printing and sintering parameters to meet that of the bone. Since titanium is inherently bioinert, the bioactivity of the parts was enhanced by surface modification of internal channels by electrochemical deposition of hydroxyapatite or hydrothermal treatment to form titania on the surface.