Additive manufacturing of novel Ti-30Nb-2Zr biomimetic scaffolds for successful limb salvage V. Chakkravarthy a,⇑ , Sujin P Jose b , M Lakshmanan c , P Manojkumar a , R Lakshmi Narayan d , M Kumaran e a Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu, India b Advanced Materials Laboratory, School of Physics, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625021, Tamil Nadu, India c Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ramco Institute of Technology, Rajapalayam, Tamilnadu, India d Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India e Department of Production Engineering, National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu 620015, India article info Article history: Available online xxxx Keywords: Additive manufacturing Ti-30Nb-2Zr Scaffold Osteosarcoma Metal oxidative stress L929 murine cells abstract Osteosarcoma is a type of bone cancer mainly observed in children and young adults affecting 3.4 million people per year. In the present study, Ti-30Nb-2Zr, a promising next-generation biomedical implant material was fabricated in the form of a porous scaffold using the selective laser melting (SLM) additive manufacturing route. Here, we quantitatively evaluated the bio-functionality, Young’s modulus, and metal oxidative stress induced by the implant to delineate the tumor ablation ability of Ti-30Nb-2Zr scaf- fold. The results indicated that Ti-30Nb-2Zr scaffolds have superior osteointegration with L929 murine cells through activation of the AKT and b-catenin protein pathways. Results of fluorescent microscopy delineate the superior cell motility, protein binding ability, and adhesion of fibroblasts owing to the por- ous nature of the scaffold. Moreover, it demonstrated excellent capabilities in impeding post-surgical tumor recurrence, and more interestingly printed scaffolds almost matched Young’s modulus of human bones. Therefore, this novel 3-D printed scaffold material may have high clinical translational potential for successful limb salvage in tumor-induced bone defect management. Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Functional Materials for Energy, Environment and Biomedical Applications. 1. Introduction Osteosarcoma is an aggressive musculoskeletal malignancy commonly observed in children and young adults, which affects the periosteum of long bones of the femur and tibia. Generally, it is characterized by recurrent chromosomal and genetic abnormal- ities. The first peak incidence of distant metastasis can be noticed among the age group of 10–30 yrs and the second peak incidence is observed at the elderly age. A recent survey incidence that across worldwide approximately 3.5 per million people are affected each year [1]. Current management strategies involve surgical removal of diseased bone, followed by radiology and neoadjuvant chemotherapy [2]. To replace the diseased bone, standard sized load-bearing implants are used. Although these implants have been successful, they seldom improve the self-healing tendency of the bone, possibly due to their poor osseointegration with the surrounding tissues. The resulting delay in self-healing may lead to tumor recurrence or an advanced stage of metastatic osteosar- coma. Besides, most of the existing implant materials such as SS316L, Co Cr Mo alloys, and NiTi implants are much stiffer than natural bones, which results in a stress shielding effect, also popu- larly referred to as bone resorption. Therefore, there is an urgent need for developing and designing novel implant materials for suc- cessfully salvaging a cancer-affected limb [3–5]. In this context, Ti and its alloys such as (Ti-6Al-4 V, Ti-Nb, Ti-Nb-Zr) have gained popularity as potential implant materials. Although Ti-6Al-4 V implants are widely used now a days, the presence of presence of Al and V leads to poor stability of passive films in load bearing implant applications. It is because Ti-6Al-4 V alloy has poor inher- ent wear resistance. Besides, TiO 2 is an unstable passive film and becomes fragmented once reaching critical thickness and freely mixed with the blood stream. During such occasions oxide ions of Al and V interacts with the soft tissues and cause pathophysio- logical problems such as metal induced cytotoxicity and elevated oxidative stress levels. The elevated oxidative stress levels activate https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.05.469 2214-7853/Copyright Ó 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Functional Materials for Energy, Environment and Biomedical Applications. ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail address: chakkravarthyv5@gmail.com (V. Chakkravarthy). Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Materials Today: Proceedings journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr Please cite this article as: V. Chakkravarthy, Sujin P Jose, M Lakshmanan et al., Additive manufacturing of novel Ti-30Nb-2Zr biomimetic scaffolds for suc- cessful limb salvage, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2022.05.469