Hans J. Maier¹, Peter Wriggers¹, Andrea Meyer-Lindenberg²; ¹Leibniz Universität Hannover, ² Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Magnesium-based implants are attractive for the treatment of large bone defects, as they combine good mechanical strength with biocompatibility and can be resorbed by the body. In addition, open-pored structures provide for enhanced bone ingrowth. In the present study, such structures were produced by investment casting and their degradation behavior was tailored by application of various surface coatings including magnesium fluoride, polylactic acid and calcium phosphate. Fused deposition modeling was employed to generate the initial form of the wax model used for investment casting. This in turn allowed for easy modification of pore sizes and arrangements. The implants were then tested both in-vitro and in-vivo. It turned out that the degradation rate can be tailored such that it is slow enough for use in implants. Moreover, the mechanical strength of the porous implants is sufficiently large to bear the loads experienced under actual loading scenarios.