The Clinical Application of Porous Tantalum and Its New Development for Bone Tissue Engineering

Abstract

Porous tantalum (Ta) is a promising biomaterial and has been applied in orthopedics and dentistry for nearly two decades. The high porosity and interconnected pore structure of porous Ta promise fine bone ingrowth and new bone formation within the inner space, which further guarantee rapid osteointegration and bone–implant stability in the long term. Porous Ta has high wettability and surface energy that can facilitate adherence, proliferation and mineralization of osteoblasts. Meanwhile, the low elastic modulus and high friction coefficient of porous Ta allow it to effectively avoid the stress shield effect, minimize marginal bone loss and ensure primary stability. Accordingly, the satisfactory clinical application of porous Ta-based implants or prostheses is mainly derived from its excellent biological and mechanical properties. With the advent of additive manufacturing, personalized porous Ta-based implants or prostheses have shown their clinical value in the treatment of individual patients who need specially designed implants or prosthesis. In addition, many modification methods have been introduced to enhance the bioactivity and antibacterial property of porous Ta with promising in vitro and in vivo research results. In any case, choosing suitable patients is of great importance to guarantee surgical success after porous Ta insertion.

Biofunctionalization of 3D Printed Porous Tantalum Using a Vancomycin–Carboxymethyl Chitosan Composite Coating to Improve Osteogenesis and Antibiofilm Properties

“…Porous tantalum is becoming more and more widely used in orthopedic implant surgery due to its excellent bone integration properties and elastic modulus matching with natural bone tissue. 37 Compared with the large amount of research on the surface modification of titanium, there are less literature reports about the modification of the porous tantalum scaffold. The chemical properties of tantalum are relatively inactive, 38 which brings challenges to give tantalum new biological functions.…”

Application of three-dimensional-printed porous tantalum cones in total knee arthroplasty revision to reconstruct bone defects

“…This technique can solve the problem of bone absorption or transmission of diseases ( Issack, 2013 ; Divano et al, 2018 ). Porous tantalum material has been widely used in many fields of orthopedics because of its excellent biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, and mechanical properties, and the porous structure is conducive to inducing host bone ingrowth and bone adhesion and is the main material of customized metal cone produced by Zimmer ( Bencharit et al, 2014 ; Potter et al, 2016 ; Huang et al, 2021 ). Howard et al (2011) treated patients with bone defects after TKA revision.…”

Advances in surface modification of tantalum and porous tantalum for rapid osseointegration: A thematic review

“…Elsewhere it was suggested that pores greater than 300 µm are essential for bone in-growth ( Roosa et al, 2010 ). Making a balance between mechanical and biological properties of porous tantalum by regulating a reasonable pore/pore ratio is a key difficulty for future research and development ( Huang et al, 2021 ). The maximum bending strength of porous tantalum is 110 MPa, which can provide sufficient physiological support for newborn bone tissue.…”