Novel titanium foam for bone tissue engineering

Abstract

Titanium foams fabricated by a new powder metallurgical process have bimodal pore distribution architecture (i.e., macropores and micropores), mimicking natural bone. The mechanical properties of the titanium foam with low relative densities of approximately 0.20–0.30 are close to those of human cancellous bone. Also, mechanical properties of the titanium foams with high relative densities of approximately 0.50–0.65 are close to those of human cortical bone. Furthermore, titanium foams exhibit good ability to form a bonelike apatite layer throughout the foams after pretreatment with a simple thermochemical process and then immersion in a simulated body fluid. The present study illustrates the feasibility of using the titanium foams as implant materials in bone tissue engineering applications, highlighting their excellent biomechanical properties and bioactivity.