Page 153 - IJB-9-3

International Journal of Bioprinting

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Evaluation of mechanical and biological

properties of akermanite/poly-ether-ether-
ketone composite fabricated by high-

temperature laser powder bed fusion

Zhiyuan Chen , Haoze Wang , Jin Su , Zixing Shu , Jiayi Hou , Peng Chen *,
1
1
1
1
1
2
Zhaoqing Li , Chunze Yan , Yusheng Shi 1
1
3
1 State Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Die & Mould Technology, School of Materials
Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
2 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University
of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
3
Wuhan Zeqing Technology Co. Ltd., Wuhan 430074, China
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Laser bioprinting technologies)
Abstract
High-temperature laser bed powder fusion (HT-LPBF) technology is an ideal method
for processing poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) implants with personalized bionic
structures, but the biological inertia of PEEK limits its medical applications. In this
study, we evaluated the mechanical and biological properties of a novel akermanite
(AKM)/PEEK composite for HT-LPBF. The results showed that tiny AKM particles are
evenly attached to the surface of the PEEK particle. The delayed peak crystallization
temperature and stable sintering window ensure the processing feasibility of the
*Corresponding author:
Peng Chen AKM/PEEK composites. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus are in the range
(peng_chen@hust.edu.cn) of 30.83–98.73 MPa and 2.27–3.71 GPa, respectively, which can match the properties
of cancellous bones and meet their implanting requirement. The CCK-8 experiments
Citation: Chen Z, Wang H, Su J,
et al., 2023, Evaluation of demonstrated the biocompatibility of the composites and the good proliferation of
mechanical and biological properties bone marrow stromal cells. The dense hydroxyapatite network layer and petal-like
of akermanite/poly-ether-ether- hydroxyapatite demonstrates biological activity, indicating that the composite has a
ketone composite fabricated by
high-temperature laser powder bed good potential in the orthopedics fields.
fusion. Int J Bioprint, 9(3): 699.
https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.699
Keywords: Additive manufacturing; Laser powder bed fusion; Akermanite/poly-
Received: October 27, 2022
Accepted: January 11, 2023 ether-ether-ketone composite; Mechanical properties; Biological properties
Published Online: March 3, 2023
Copyright: © 2023 Author(s).
This is an Open Access article
distributed under the terms of the 1. Introduction
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution Additive manufacturing (AM), an advanced manufacturing technology characterized
and reproduction in any medium, by high flexibility in design and fabrication, has been developing rapidly in recent
provided the original work is
properly cited. years [1-4] . The advantages of AM facilitate the rapid development of medical devices
with personalized complex structures [5-7] . Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), one of the
Publisher’s Note: Whioce
Publishing remains neutral with important branches of powder-based AM technology, is an effective method used in
regard to jurisdictional claims in medical applications, especially bone tissue engineering [8,9] . The powder-based self-
published maps and institutional supporting characteristic of the LPBF technology makes it possible to fabricate complex
affiliations.

Volume 9 Issue 3 (2023) 145 https://doi.org/10.18063/ijb.699