Mechanical Engineering Department, Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, Punjab, India.
Biopolymers. 2024 Sep;115(5):e23600. doi: 10.1002/bip.23600. Epub 2024 May 29.
Distal ulna locking bone plates (DLBPs) are commonly employed in the treatment of distal ulna fractures. However, commercially available metallic bone plates experience stress shielding and lack corrosion resistance. Poly lactic acid (PLA) is highly favored biopolymer due to its biocompatible and bioabsorbable nature with human tissues. The use of additive layer manufacturing (ALM) is gaining attention for creating customized implants with intricate structures tailored to patient autonomy. ALM-based PLA bone plates must provide high resistance against impact and torsional forces, necessitating the adjustment of printing process parameters. This study focuses on examining the influence of key printing parameters, on the impact strength and torque-withstanding capability of DLBPs. Experimental results, along with microscopic images, reveal that an increase in infill density (IF) and wall thickness imparts strong resistance to layers against crack propagation under impact and torsional loads. On the contrary, an increase in layer height and printing speed leads to delamination and early fracture of layers during impact and torsional testing. IF significantly contributes to improving the impact strength and torque-withstanding capability of DLBPs by 70.53% and 80.65%, respectively. The study highlights the potential of the ALM technique in developing DLBPs with sufficient mechanical strength for biomedical applications.
远端尺骨锁定骨板（DLBPs）常用于治疗远端尺骨骨折。然而，市售的金属骨板会出现应力屏蔽，且缺乏耐腐蚀性。聚乳酸（PLA）是一种非常受欢迎的生物聚合物，因为其具有生物相容性和可生物降解性，与人体组织相适应。增材制造（ALM）的使用因其能够为患者提供个性化的、具有复杂结构的植入物而受到关注。基于 ALM 的 PLA 骨板必须具有抵抗冲击和扭转力的高强度，这需要调整打印工艺参数。本研究重点研究了关键打印参数对 DLBPs 冲击强度和抗扭能力的影响。实验结果和微观图像表明，增加填充密度（IF）和壁厚度可以增强层对冲击和扭转载荷下裂纹扩展的抵抗力。相反，增加层高度和打印速度会导致在冲击和扭转测试过程中分层和早期层断裂。IF 分别可使 DLBPs 的冲击强度和抗扭能力提高 70.53%和 80.65%。该研究强调了 ALM 技术在开发具有足够机械强度的用于生物医学应用的 DLBPs 方面的潜力。
