Additive manufactured trabecular-like Ti-6Al-4V scaffolds for promoting bone regeneration

The Voronoi-tessellation method is a promising technique for porous implant design as it mimics the irregular structure of bone trabeculae very well. However, the optimal pore size distribution of Voronoi-based trabecular-like scaffolds (VBTSs) remains unknown. In this study, three VBTSs with different pore size distributions were fabricated by Electron-beam melting (EBM), with a regular cubic scaffold as a control. Compression experiments showed that the elastic modulus of all the fabricated scaffolds was within the range of human bone. The biocompatibility of the porous scaffolds was evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8, live/dead staining, phalloidin staining, and scanning electron microscope. The effects of scaffolds on osteogenic differentiation were evaluated by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assay, Alizarin Red S (ARS) assay, and Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). In vivo experiments were performed to evaluate the performance of bone regeneration in the scaffolds. The results showed that all scaffolds were non-toxic with good biosafety, and VBTSs were more conducive to promoting cell proliferation, osteogenic differentiation, and bone regeneration within the scaffolds. Among the 596–1044 μm range, the VBTS with an average pore size of 596 μm performed best. This study showed that bone regeneration could be regulated by controlling the porous structure and provided a reference for applying VBTSs in bone implants.