The first in vitro biocompatibility tests of VBN Components’ 3D printed metal Vibenite 350 have been conducted within the Additive Manufacturing for the Life Sciences (AM4Life) competence center, with initial results indicating that bone-like cells spread and proliferate on the material. The company says these findings encourage a more in-depth examination of the material’s biocompatibility.

AM4Life supports advancements in the field of additive manufacturing (AM) for biomedical applications and health care. It focuses on conducting multidisciplinary cooperative research by bringing together academic and industrial experts from the life and materials sciences, cell biology, biomedical engineering and AM.

The Vibenite 350 is both wear and corrosive resistant, and could be well suited as an implant material where wear resistance is essential, such as human joints. The metal is a cobalt-free material which could replace traditional materials that are not wear-resistant. Additionally, it could be 3D printed with complex structures adapted to optimize bone cell growth.

This stainless PM steel is well suited to high-wear applications that need stainless properties, such as plastic processing tools (extrusions and injection tool parts, segments for segment screws), pumps and valve rings. Its high hardness of approximately 60 HRC (680–700 HV) and high chromium content provide good wear and corrosion propertiesm, making it well suited for creating products such as pump impellers or valves, where there is a requirement for both complex shapes and high performance. These types of alloys are normally extremely difficult to machine.

The tests were done at Assistant Professor Gry Hulsart Billström’s Translational Bioprinting Group at Uppsala University (Uppsala, Sweden), as part of a cooperation with AM4Life Director Professor Cecilia Persson and members of the Tribomaterials Group at Uppsala University, Ph.D. Student Vidhiaza Leviandhika and Professor Urban Wiklund.

The exploration of Vibenite 350 will be continued in the AM4Life competence center with further biological and tribological tests.

“We are extremely happy of these results and the good cooperation in the AM4life competence center,” says Ulrik Beste, CTO of VBN Components AB. “When different research fields meet, the greatest results are achieved. But everything relies on good cooperations and the world-class science we have in this center.”