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A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 1 6
8 METALS | POLYMERS | CERAMICS
that has been approved by the FDA for
other clinical uses. “PCL melts at 80 to
100°C (176 to 212°F)—much lower than
most plastics—so it’s a good one to mix
with biological materials that can be
damaged at higher temperatures,” says
Warren Grayson, associate professor at
the Johns Hopkins University School
of Medicine. PCL is also strong, but the
team knew from previous studies that
it does not support new bone forma-
tion. So they mixed it with increasing
amounts of “bone powder,” made by
pulverizing the porous bone inside cow
knees after stripping it of cells.
To find out whether the scaffolds
encourage bone formation, research-
ers added human fat-derived stem cells
taken during a liposuction procedure
to scaffolds immersed in a nutritional
broth lacking pro-bone ingredients.
After three weeks, cells grown on 70%
bone powder scaffolds showed gene
activity hundreds of times higher in
three genes indicative of bone for-
mation, compared to cells grown on
pure PCL scaffolds. Cells on 30% bone
powder scaffolds showed large but
less impressive increases in the same
genes. For more information: Warren
Grayson, 410.502.6306, wgrayson@jhmi.
edu,
NEW MATERIAL AND WELDING
TECHNIQUE ENHANCE
VEHICLE AESTHETICS
Rear lamp housings for vehicles
now look and perform better thanks to
material and processing innovations
3D-printed scaffoldmatches the lower jaw of a female patient. Courtesy of Johns
Hopkins Medicine.
A newly formed alliance, ALTec
Industrial R&D Group, is con-
solidating research efforts in the
Canadian aluminum sector to
develop innovative aluminum
products for ground transporta-
tion vehicles. ALTec already has 23
members and partners that have
access to state-of-the-art facilities
and advanced expertise in alumi-
num forming, assembling, cor-
rosion control, and performance
validation. A major partner, the
Ministère de l’Économie, de la
Science et de l’Innovation du
Québec, has contributed $450,000
through the Advanced Materials
Research and Innovation Hub
known as PRIMA. .
BRIEFS
Carpenter Technology Corp., Wyomissing, Pa., introduced PremoMax, a
premium-melted alloy steel, developed for use in multiple downhole drill-
ing applications. Its combination of high strength, impact toughness, and
good hardenability in large section sizes provides superior performance
in challenging environments. The new alloy is available in both billets and
bars. cartech.com.
3D-PRINTED JAW FEATURES
NATURAL BONE AND PLASTIC
Researchers at Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore, found that a
good framework for filling in missing
bone requires a mix of at least 30% pul-
verized natural bone and special man-
made plastic to create the necessary
shape with a 3D printer.
The team incorporated polycapro-
lactone, or PCL, a biodegradable poly-
ester used in making polyurethane