[Mechanical properties of 3D-printed titanium mesh and its biocompatibility in vitro].

PURPOSE: To compare the mechanical properties of 3D-printed titanium meshes and pre-shaped titanium meshes, and to evaluate the effects of 3D-printed titanium meshes on cell proliferation and differentiation. METHODS: 3D- printed titanium meshes were produced and prepared with laser printing machine. The mechanical properties were analyzed by static tension and compression load test. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were extracted from 4-week-old male SD rats. BMSCs were co-cultured with 3D-printed titanium meshes of different apertures. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to detect cell proliferation. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity assay was used to test ALP activity. The expression of related osteogenic genes was tested by real-time PCR. The adhesion and growth of BMSCs were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and living / dead cell staining. SPSS 22.0 software package was used for statistical analysis of the results. RESULTS: The results of 3D-printing Ti-meshes tension and compression loading experiment were excellent. The 3D-printing Ti-meshes showed no inhibitory effects on cell proliferation, survival and adhesion, but had a positive effect on osteogenesis of BMSCs. CONCLUSIONS: The mechanical properties of 3D-printed Ti-meshes are excellent. The 3D-printed Ti-meshes have good biocompatibility.

Hollow Porous VOx/C Nanoscrolls as High-Performance Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Novel hollow porous VOx/C nanoscrolls are synthesized by an annealing process with the VOx/octadecylamine (ODA) nanoscrolls as both vanadium and carbon sources. In the preparation, the VOx/ODA nanoscrolls are first achieved by a two-phase solvothermal method using ammonium metavanadat as the precursor. Upon subsequent heating, the intercalated amines between the vanadate layers in the VOx/ODA nanoscrolls decompose into gases, which escape from inside the nanoscrolls and leave sufficient pores in the walls. As the anodes of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), such hollow porous VOx/C nanoscrolls possess exceedingly high capacity and rate capability (904 mAh g-1 at 1 A g-1) and long cyclic stability (872 mAh g-1 after 210 cycles at 1 A g-1). The good performance is derived from the unique structural features of the hollow hierarchical porous nanoscrolls with low crystallinity, which could significantly suppress irreversible Li+ trapping as well as improve Li+ diffusion kinetics. This universal method of annealing amine-intercalated oxide could be widely applied to the fabrication of a variety of porous electrode materials for high-performance LIBs and supercapacitors.

Synthesis of Mesoporous Single Crystal Co(OH)2 Nanoplate and Its Topotactic Conversion to Dual-Pore Mesoporous Single Crystal Co3O4.

A new class of mesoporous single crystalline (MSC) material, Co(OH)2 nanoplates, is synthesized by a soft template method, and it is topotactically converted to dual-pore MSC Co3O4. Most mesoporous materials derived from the soft template method are reported to be amorphous or polycrystallined; however, in our synthesis, Co(OH)2 seeds grow to form single crystals, with amphiphilic block copolymer F127 colloids as the pore producer. The single-crystalline nature of material can be kept during the conversion from Co(OH)2 to Co3O4, and special dual-pore MSC Co3O4 nanoplates can be obtained. As the anode of lithium-ion batteries, such dual-pore MSC Co3O4 nanoplates possess exceedingly high capacity as well as long cyclic performance (730 mAh g(-1) at 1 A g(-1) after the 350th cycle). The superior performance is because of the unique hierarchical mesoporous structure, which could significantly improve Li(+) diffusion kinetics, and the exposed highly active (111) crystal planes are in favor of the conversion reaction in the charge/discharge cycles.