Additive Manufacturing and Applications of Bioabsorbable Metals

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to submit original contributions in the area of additive manufacturing of bioabsorbable metals for potential publication in our Special Issue. Bioabsorbable metals are typically classified as Mg-, Fe-, and Zn-based alloys. Among them, Fe is considered the easiest to manufacture with the highest mechanical strength; Mg has the best biocompatibility and mechanical properties most similar to those of human bone; while Zn has an ideal value corrosion rate for bioabsorbable applications compared to that of Mg and Fe. Bioabsorbable metallic implants are advantageous given their ability to dissolve within the human body, leading to complete dissolution once their purpose is fulfilled. This eliminates the need for second revision surgeries, while lowering the risk of infection commonly attributed to foreign elements within the body. As such, bioabsorbable metals are attractive for a variety of implants including orthopaedic, cardiovascular, and spinal, among others. Additive manufacturing (AM) is especially attractive for bioabsorbable metallic implants due to its ability to fabricate complex geometries (e.g., porous scaffolds) and patient-specific implants. 

Additive manufacturing of bioabsorbable metals is still in its infancy, despite much progress over the last years. Certain challenges attributed to printability, evaporation of elements, corrosion resistance and component integrity remain. The resulting component integrity and properties are closely related to material, design, and processing, making AM of bioabsorbable metals an interdisciplinary subject combining metallurgy, mechanical engineering, and medicine. The combination of bioabsorbable metals and AM provides a unique opportunity for research in many aspects including materials, design, manufacturing, and clinical applications. 

This Special Issue aims to detail theoretical and practical results for AM of bioabsorbable metals. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. It is envisaged that the issue will serve as a forum for publishing contributions which advance in-depth understanding of the relationship between the processing, microstructure, properties and functionality of bioabsorbable metallic materials. There will be no restriction on the length of the papers such that the full experimental details should be provided. Specific research areas of interest for this Special Issue may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Alloy design
• Powder properties 
• Process optimisation
• Process–structure–property relations  
• Mechanical properties and corrosion resistance
• Biocompatibility
• Lattice design
• Additive
• Manufacturing enabled functionality
• Biomedical Implants

Dr. Alexander Kopp
Dr. Francesco D´Elia
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.