Surface treatments on 3D printed Ti6Al4V biomedical plates to enhance corrosion resistance in simulated physiological solutions and under inflammatory conditions

Ti6Al4V biomedical plates were fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion using different process parameters. A slight influence of the laser energy density on mechanical properties and microstructure was revealed. Chemical etching allowed to make the surface of 3D samples uniform removing also spheres of unfused material. After etching some samples were anodized in calcium acetate and β-glycerolphosphate containing solution to grow a Ca and P containing porous TiO 2 layers. The chemical etching improved the corrosion resistance of the alloy in simulated body fluid, while only after anodizing the alloys resulted to be corrosion resistant under inflammatory and severe inflammatory conditions. • Ti6Al4V plates were fabricated by 3D printing using different scanning strategies. • 3D printed samples were anodized in calcium and phosphate containing solution. • Anodic layer is a n-type semiconductor with a very positive flat band potential. • Anodized samples resulted to be corrosion resistant under inflammatory conditions.