Metals Advances ›› 2026, Vol. 48: 49-58.DOI: 10.1016/j.metadv.2026.06.007
• Research Article • Previous Articles Next Articles
Dong Fanga,c,1, Qiangbing Doua,1, Cheng Xua,1, Yachuan Yub, Zhaoyang Ranc,d, Tinglong Chenc,d, Liang Dengc,d, Quan Zhenga, Qiwei Wanga, Frank Wittee,*(
), Yongqiang Haoc,d,*(), Ke Yangf,*(), Liangye Suna,**()
Received:2026-03-17
Revised:2026-06-28
Accepted:2026-06-29
Online:2026-10-10
Published:2026-07-31
Contact:
**E-mail addresses: frank.witte@charite.de (F. Witte),
hao_yongqiang@hotmail.com (Y. Hao),
kyang@imr.ac.cn (K. Yang),
2336020275@stu.ahmu.edu.cn (L. Sun).
About author:1 These authors contribute equally to this work.
Dong Fang, Qiangbing Dou, Cheng Xu, Yachuan Yu, Zhaoyang Ran, Tinglong Chen, Liang Deng, Quan Zheng, Qiwei Wang, Frank Witte, Yongqiang Hao, Ke Yang, Liangye Sun. Biological functions of 3D-printed porous Cu-containing titanium alloy[J]. Metals Advances, 2026, 48: 49-58.
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Fig. 1. Structural design renderings of 3D-printed porous titanium alloys: (a) structure unit, (b) top view of the structure, (c) side view of the structure, (d) photo of a 3D-printed scaffold.
Fig. 2. Characterization of porous Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V alloys: (a) surface micrographs of 3D-printed porous alloy scaffolds under SEM, (b) EDS planar scanning results of 3D-printed porous alloy scaffolds, (c) Cu ion release curve of 3D-printed porous Ti6Al4V5Cu alloy scaffolds.
Fig. 3. (a) SEM images of bacterial biofilm growth on Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V scaffolds after 24 h of co-culture with different bacteria. (b) CLSM observation of bacterial biofilm growth on Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V scaffolds after 24 h of co-culture with different bacteria. (c) Number and representative images of colonies growing on Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V scaffolds after 24 h of co-culture. (d) Crystal violet absorption values of Staphylococcus aureus on Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V scaffolds at different time points. (e) Crystal violet absorption values of Staphylococcus epidermosus on Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V scaffolds at different time points. (f) Crystal violet absorption values of E. coli on Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V scaffolds at different time points. (g) mRNA expression of icaA, icaR and SarA genes associated with biofilm for Ti6Al4V5Cu group, and their expression relative to Ti6Al4V group. Data were analyzed by two-sided Student-t test, and were expressed as mean±SD; n=3; *p<0.05.
Fig. 4. (a) Cell viability of rat BMSCs on Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V scaffolds. (b) ALP activity of rat BMSCs on Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V scaffolds after 7 days of co-culture. (c) Absorption by alizarin red staining after 21 days of co-culture. Two-sided Student-t test was used, and data were expressed as mean±SD. n=3; *p<0.05.
Fig. 5. (a) X-ray imaging evaluation of Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V scaffolds after 4 weeks of implantation. (b) Micro-CT imaging evaluation of the implants after 4 weeks implantation of Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V scaffolds. (c) Quantitative analysis of bone mineral density of Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V scaffolds. Two-sided Student-t test was used, and data were expressed as mean±SD. n=3; *p<0.05.
Fig. 6. (a) Histological evaluation of the implant using HE staining. (b) Histological assessment of implants using Giemsa staining. (c, d) Representative images and colony counts of bacteria on the implant surface and surrounding bone tissue. A two-sided Student-t test was used, and data were expressed as mean±SD. n=3; *p<0.05.
Fig. 7. Evaluations of bone-implant osseointegration using micro-CT (a) and van Gieson staining (c). (b, d) Corresponding bone-implant contacts (BIC) were calculated. Data were expressed as mean±SD. n=3. *p<0.05, two-sided Student-t test was used.
Fig. 8. (a) Evaluation of tissue microstructure of heart, liver, spleen, lung, and kidney of experimental animals using HE staining (100× magnification). (b, c) Body temperature and body weight of experimental animals in Ti6Al4V5Cu and Ti6Al4V groups. Data were expressed as mean±SD; n=3.
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