(Press-News.org) Researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityU HK) have developed novel artificial bone scaffolds with a high deformation recovery capability of 6% –7%, compared to 2% – 4% for natural bone and less than 1% for conventional metallic scaffolds. Additionally, these scaffolds allow for flexible adjustments of properties like strength, modulus, and permeability to meet specific implantation site requirements.
Reported in the International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, this work provides valuable insights into developing high-performance artificial bone scaffolds and other multifunctional metamaterials for diverse engineering applications.
The global demand for bone implants is sharply increasing, with projections estimating a market value of $64.27 billion by 2030.
"Artificial bone scaffolds are a critical part of implants, but existing scaffolds still fall short of being ideal," stated Prof. Jian LU, the corresponding author of this paper and Chair Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at CityU HK. "Scaffolds serve as partial implants to address localized bone loss and must closely mimic the properties of natural bone at the implantation site. For instance, they should possess adequate deformation recovery and offer adjustable modulus, strength, and permeability to match the site’s characteristics. Unfortunately, conventional metal scaffolds have yet to meet these expectations."
NiTi alloys are biocompatible metals with excellent deformation recovery capabilities (also known as superelasticity). Since the late 20th century, researchers have explored their use in implants, including orthodontic wires, bone plates, and vascular stents. However, the complex topological structures of bone scaffolds pose challenges for traditional manufacturing methods.
The advent of 3D printing technology offers a solution for fabricating NiTi scaffolds. Nonetheless, preliminary studies reveal difficulties in controlling the performance of 3D-printed NiTi scaffolds, with unclear strategies for achieving optimal superelasticity and a broad range of tunable properties.
Using laser powder bed fusion technology (a 3D printing technique), Prof. Jian LU’s team synergistically optimized the microstructure and macrostructure of NiTi scaffolds, resulting in scaffolds with hierarchical microstructures and gyroid-sheet topologies.
This design enhances reversible martensitic phase transformation, significantly improving the scaffolds’ superelasticity. Furthermore, by adjusting the volume fraction and unit cell size, a wide range of mechanical and mass transfer properties was achieved, enhancing the scaffolds' applicability.
"Compared with previously reported scaffolds, our superelastic NiTi scaffolds more closely match the deformation behavior of natural bone and offer adaptable properties to meet the diverse needs of different implantation sites," said Shiyu ZHONG, first author of the paper and a PhD student under Prof. Jian LU. "Future research will focus on the biocompatibility and durability (including fatigue, corrosion, etc.) of these scaffolds to enhance their clinical applications."
International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing (IJEM, IF: 21.3) is dedicated to publishing the best advanced manufacturing research with extreme dimensions to address both the fundamental scientific challenges and significant engineering needs.
Maintain #1 in Engineering, Manufacturing for consecutive years
Average time to First Decision after Peer Review: 34 days
Open Access Publishing with APC Waivers
Visit our webpage, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
END
3D-printed bone scaffolds unlock superelasticity and tunable performance
2025-09-03
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Development of a dual-functional NiFe-BNC catalyst for efficient styrene degradation and CO2 reduction towards sustainable environmental solutions
2025-09-03
A research team led by Professor Chuncai Kong from Xi’an Jiaotong University has designed boron-bridge regulated asymmetric dual-atomic catalysts (NiFe-BNC) that deliver exceptional bifunctional activity for volatile organic compound (VOC) degradation and electrochemical CO2 reduction. Published in Nano-Micro Letters, this work demonstrates a sustainable platform for converting waste gases into valuable resources through synergistic catalysis.
Why This Catalyst Matters
Unprecedented Performance: NiFe-BNC achieves 99% continuous styrene degradation in 2 hours with stable mineralization above 60%. Simultaneously, it enables CO2 electroreduction with a Faradaic ...
Financial innovation accelerates the global shift to new energy: Evidence from international research
2025-09-03
Background and Motivation
As the world accelerates its transition towards renewable and sustainable energy, the pivotal role of finance in driving this transformation is clearer than ever. From wind and solar to hydropower and biomass, rapid advances in new energy technologies are only possible with robust financial support. Understanding how finance interacts with new energy development—and how financial innovation can promote sustainability—has become a top priority for researchers, investors, and policymakers worldwide.
Methodology and Scope
This special issue brings together eight cutting-edge studies ...
“Major floods and droughts every 15 years” ... AI forecasts a crisis
2025-09-03
A new study led by Professor Jonghun Kam's team at POSTECH(Pohang University of Science and Technology) has uncovered a shocking forecast for Pakistan's future. Using a cutting-edge AI model, the research predicts that the country will face unprecedented "super floods" and "extreme droughts" on a periodic basis. This dire prediction is a direct result of accelerating global warming, which is causing more frequent and severe extreme weather events around the world, particularly in vulnerable high-altitude ...
Johns Hopkins investigators create new urine-based test to ID prostate cancers
2025-09-03
**EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL TUESDAY, SEPT. 2, AT 7:30 P.M.**
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and four other institutions have devised a novel method to test for prostate cancer using biomarkers present in urine, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. This approach could significantly reduce the need for invasive, often painful biopsies, they say.
By analyzing urine samples from prostate cancer patients before and after prostate-removal surgery, as well as from healthy individuals, ...
Dad’s childhood passive smoking may confer lifelong poor lung health onto his kids
2025-09-02
A father’s exposure to passive smoking as a child may impair the lifelong lung function of his children, putting them at risk of COPD—a risk that is heightened further if they are childhood passive smokers themselves—finds research published online in the respiratory journal Thorax.
The findings highlight the intergenerational harms of smoking, say the researchers, who urge fathers to intercept this harmful legacy by avoiding smoking around their children.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ...
People with learning disabilities seem to progress faster to severe type 2 diabetes
2025-09-02
People with learning disabilities progress faster to severe type 2 diabetes and are at greater risk of dying from their condition than people without these disabilities, suggests research published in the open access journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Control.
This is despite having better overall blood glucose control and similar risks of vascular complications, the findings indicate.
Around 1.5 million people (950,000 adults) in the UK have a learning disability, which includes conditions such as Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, note the researchers.
Type 2 ...
Study suggests link between hepatitis B immunity and lower risk of developing diabetes
2025-09-02
New research to be presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Vienna, Austria (15-19 September) and published in the journal Diagnostics shows that people with hepatitis B immunity induced by vaccination have a lower risk of developing diabetes of any kind. The study is by Dr Nhu-Quynh Phan, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan, and colleagues, under the supervision of Professor Chiehfeng Chen.
The liver plays an important role in glucose metabolism, specfically maintaining the balance of glucose levels (glucose homeostasis) and it is thought HBV infection may affect liver functions and ...
Researchers find Medicaid is crucial to access treatment for opioid addiction
2025-09-02
Medicaid plays a key role for giving people with opioid-use disorder access to treatment, according to a Rutgers Health study.
Progress in life-saving treatment for opioid-use disorder with the medication has stalled in the past several years, according to a Rutgers Health study. However, researchers added that while some states were able to achieve substantial improvement, others lost ground.
Specifically, states that have expanded access to Medicaid insurance coverage since 2018 saw increases in prescriptions for opioid-use disorder treatment, according to the study, while states that haven’t ...
New research shows changing winters will hit northern lakes the hardest
2025-09-02
Duluth, MN - In the world’s cold and snowy regions, shorter and warmer winters are one of the most conspicuous consequences of climate change. For freshwater lakes, this means later freezing, earlier thawing, and thinner ice. A new study, published in Ecology Letters, shows that the ecological impacts of these winter changes may be most dramatic in high-latitude lakes.
“The ecology of ice-covered lakes is a bit of a black box for lake scientists,” said Ted Ozersky, a University of Minnesota Duluth biologist who led the research. “For a long time, we assumed that nothing interesting happened under the ice, so few studies looked at what goes on in ...
Wildfire ‘char’ may help suppress methane
2025-09-02
It's hard to believe that there is anything positive that could come out of wildfires. They have devastated homes, taken lives, erased memories, leveled cities and destroyed our forests and wildlands. But a University of Delaware professor has found that there is something of value to be learned from what’s left behind in the remnants.
The charred debris left in the wake of wildfires, such as those currently burning in Colorado, Canada and Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park, is known as wildfire char. UD’s Pei Chiu, professor of civil, construction ...