From lab discovery to future imlants – new grant accelerates sustainable materials research

Thanks to a newly awarded research grant, Proof of Concept 2025, that vision is moving one step closer to reality. The project builds on years of fundamental materials research and now enters an exciting new phase: translating lab-scale discoveries into real-world applications. With a focus on advanced 3D-printed metals, the work could pave the way for a new class of sustainable, patient-specific implants.

“We were absolutely thrilled,” says WISE researcher Cecilia Persson, principal investigator of the research project “Amorphous-matrix degradable alloys for sustainable bone repair solutions” from Uppsala University.

 

A quality stamp for research with real-world potential

How did it feel when you found out you had been awarded this grant?
Fantastic, and very excited that we can get this work going!

What does this recognition mean to you personally and professionally?
“It is a confirmation that the fundamental research we have done has the potential to be further developed into something useful for society, which means a lot. Professionally, it’s a quality stamp, and it means that we can now verify the material’s potential for future applications.

My PhD student, Giulio Cavaliere, has worked very hard to develop this material, and this grant allows him to take several important steps forward to develop this material as a post-doctoral researcher.”

 

Printing metals with unique properties

At the heart of the project is an advanced form of additive manufacturing – often referred to as 3D printing – used to create a special class of materials known as bulk metallic glasses. Unlike conventional metals, these materials have a unique internal structure that can provide improved performance, including better resistance to corrosion.

What was the original research idea behind your project, and what made you see its real-world potential?
“The idea was to use a specific additive manufacturing process to create rare-earth-free bulk metallic glasses with a specific composition and microstructure. This would allow us to achieve improved corrosion properties.

I’ve worked for a long time with materials development in collaboration with orthopaedic surgeons, and this type of material could be very promising for resorbable implants.”

 

Bridging the gap from lab to application

Turning a promising material into a real medical product is far from straightforward. It requires scaling up the manufacturing process, understanding how the material behaves in realistic conditions, and ensuring it meets strict regulatory standards.

How does this grant help you move from fundamental research to practical use?
“It will allow us to develop the material into printable implant structures and investigate its properties in a setting that’s closer to the final application.

What’s not obvious is how the macroscopic structure and the overall shape affects the structure at the microscopic level. Also, mechanisms relating to risks for cracking are not fully understood. These are some of the key challenges we can now address, together with biocompatibility studies on the material.”

 

Scientific and technical challenges ahead

While the potential is exciting, significant challenges remain both in understanding the material itself and in refining how it is produced.

What are the main challenges in developing this solution?
“There are many. Scientifically, we need to fully understand the underlying mechanisms that determine how we obtain a specific microstructure with beneficial properties.

Technically, there are challenges such as the limitations of powder reuse in additive manufacturing. We must maintain high material quality, which is especially critical in a highly regulated field like medical implants.”

 

Towards sustainable and patient-specific implants

If successful, the research could have a wide-ranging impact, not only in healthcare, but also in sustainability.

How could your results contribute to society in the long term?
“This work can enable better resorbable implants that gradually degrade and disappear once they’ve fulfilled their function.

Our solution is rare-earth-free and can be produced using additive manufacturing with minimal material waste. The microstructure we can achieve, with lower corrosion rates, may also enable larger, patient-specific geometries.”

The benefits go beyond materials:

• Improved patient outcomes – reduced risk of infection and less need for follow-up surgeries
• Reduced antibiotic use – supporting efforts to combat antibiotic resistance
• Local production – enabling more resilient, decentralized healthcare systems

 

A step closer to the future of healthcare

By combining cutting-edge materials science with sustainable manufacturing, the project represents a shift toward smarter, more responsible innovation. What began as a fundamental research idea is now evolving into something that could directly benefit patients and the planet.

With the support of this grant, the journey from experiment to application accelerates, bringing us closer to implants that not only heal but safely disappear when no longer needed.