Evaluating Surface Properties and Cellular Responses to Surface-Treated Different Triple Periodic Minimal Surface L-PBF Ti6Al4V Lattices for Biomedical Devices

Triple periodic minimal surface lattices have been introduced to dental and medical devices. Numerous designs of these porous structures have been proposed, but the impact of the surface properties of the different topographic lattices are not fully understood. So, this study aimed to examine the cellular and inflammatory responses to different lattice designs, including strut-based and surface-based lattices. Human osteoblasts, human umbilical vein endothelial cells, and monocytes were used to evaluate cell proliferation, osteogenic differentiation, and inflammatory response on lattices after surface treatment strategies. Post-surface treatment of chemical etching, in addition to improving the surface roughness by removing some adhered metal powder, also modulated the surface energy. The lattice design had no significant impact on cell proliferation, but higher cell proliferation was found in post-surface treated lattices, regardless of topographic design. For angiogenesis, there was no difference in the release of pro-angiogenic growth factors between topographic designs or post-surface treatment groups. Moreover, lattices with the post-surface treatment were prone to have a lower inflammation phenotype when compared to an as-printed lattice, though not in a significant manner. This study implies that different topographic lattice designs may not have a major impact on bone ingrowth; nevertheless, post-surface treatment and surface properties of lattice may have an influence on a macrophage-induced inflammatory response.