Bone printing collaboration

A manufacturer of structural zirconia ceramics, has entered into a research project with a Portuguese university to produce synthetic bone material for orthopaedic implants.

The Faculty of Science and Technology (FCT NOVA) – one of the most prestigious Portuguese institutions in the fields of engineering and science – will collaborate with Innovnano to develop a 3D printing process that is low cost, simple to implement at a large scale, and able to produce synthetic bone material.

“We are looking forward to working with the team at FCT NOVA and are hopeful that this will eventually lead to a significant development in orthopaedic medicine”, said Mr André de Albuquerque, Innovnano’s CEO. “In addition to this research into biomedical applications, the project will also help us understand how the technology can be applied in other industrial sectors such as automotive, aerospace, and robotics.”

With extensive experience in the production of nanostructured zirconia powders using its unique Emulsion Detonation synthesis (EDS) process, Innovnano will focus on the synthesis of new zirconia-based composite materials. The company will work with the team at FCT NOVA, one of Portugal’s most prestigious universities, to optimize the particle shape to produce the best compromise between porosity and mechanical resistance, and also on in vitro and in vivo studies to determine biocompatibility.

The first step in the project involves studying the influence of properties such as viscosity and composition of zirconia-based ceramic pastes, to optimize the mechanical and physiological properties of the ‘printed’ bone substitutes.