Surface porous poly-ether-ether-ketone based on three-dimensional printing for load-bearing orthopedic implant

Poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) possesses excellent biocompatibility and similar elastic modulus as bones but yet suffers from poor osseointegration. In order to balance PEEK's mechanical and osseointegration properties, a novel surface porous PEEK (SP-PEEK) is successfully fabricated by fused deposition modelling three-dimensional printing (FDM 3DP) and characterized by mechanical and osteogenesis in vitro tests. Moreover, the effects of pore diameter and pore layer number on the mechanical behaviors of SP-PEEK are investigated by theoretical model and numerical simulation. Comparison among experimental, theoretical and simulation results show good agreement. As pore diameter decreases, the equivalent strength and modulus become more sensitive to the decrease of pore layer number. In addition, the SP-PEEK exhibits the mechanical properties within the range of human trabecular bone and cortical bone, and thus can be tailored to mimic human bone by adjusting the pore diameter and pore layer number, which is benefit to mitigate stress shielding. The effects of pore diameter on the cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of SP-PEEK are tested by the co-culture of osteoblast precursor cells (MC3T3-E1) and SP-PEEK round discs. Results showcase that porous surface improves the osteogenesis in vitro, and the SP-PEEK group that the pore diameter is 0.6 mm exhibits optimal-performance osteogenesis in vitro.