Direct laser processing of a tantalum coating on titanium for bone replacement structures

Recently tantalum is gaining more attention as a new metallic biomaterial as it has been shown to be bioactive and biologically bonds to bone. However, the relatively high cost of manufacture and an inability to produce a modular all Ta implant has limited its widespread acceptance. In this study we have successfully deposited a Ta coating on Ti using laser engineered net shaping (LENS™) to enhance the osseointegration properties. In vitro biocompatibility study, using human osteoblast cell line hFOB, showed excellent cellular adherence and growth with abundant extracellular matrix formation on the Ta coating surface compared with the Ti surface. A six times higher living cell density was observed on the Ta coating than on the Ti control surface by MMT assay. A high surface energy and wettability of the Ta surface were observed to contribute to its significantly better cell–material interactions. Also, these dense Ta coatings do not suffer from low fatigue resistance due to the absence of porosity and a sharp interface between the coating and the substrate, which is a major concern for porous coatings used for enhanced/early biological fixation.