Investigation on the effect of the gas-to-metal ratio on powder properties and PBF-LB/M processability

Metal powders for the laser powder bed fusion process are usually produced via gas atomization. However, due to the tight particle size distribution required for this application, the yield of the atomization process is low, resulting in a high-powder cost. In this work, atomization process parameters were varied to increase the gas-to-metal ratio to reduce the particle size distribution produced, and therefore increase the yield of the process. As a result, eight powders were produced starting from scrap AISI 136L material at different gas-to-metal ratio values, and the atomization process yield was successfully increased by 50%. First, the eight powders were characterized in terms of powder size, shape distributions, and flowability. Later, all powders were used to produce tensile specimens. The powders produced at higher yield exhibited a larger number of fine particles but slightly lower circularity, particularly in the coarse fraction. Furthermore, powders produced at a high gas-to-metal ratio demonstrated enhanced flowing properties and higher packing density. Consequently, these powders exhibited superior tensile performance, with ultimate tensile strength (UTS) ranging from 651 to 673 MPa and elongation values between 63 and 66%

Monoclonal antibodies to treat multiple myeloma: A dream come true

Immunotherapy is increasingly used in the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are safe and effective ways to elicit immunotherapeutic responses. In 2015, daratumumab has become the first mAb approved by the Food and Drug Administration for clinical use in MM and, in the last 5 years, a lot of clinical and preclinical research has been done to optimize the use of this drug class. Currently, mAbs have already become part of standard-of-care combinations for the treatment of relapsed/refractory MM and very soon they will also be used in the frontline setting. The success of simple mAbs (‘naked mAbs’) prompted the development of new types of molecules. Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) are tumor-targeting mAbs that release a cytotoxic payload into the tumor cells upon antigen binding in order to destroy them. Bispecific antibodies (BiAbs) are mAbs simultaneously targeting a tumor-associated antigen and an immune cell-associated antigen in order to redirect the immune cell cytotoxicity against the tumor cell. These different constructs produced solid preclinical data and promising clinical data in phase I/II trials. The aim of this review article is to summarize all the recent developments in the field, including data on naked mAbs, ADCs and BiAbs

Pursuing a curative approach in multiple myeloma: A review of new therapeutic strategies

Multiple myeloma (MM) is still considered an incurable hematologic cancer and, in the last decades, the treatment goal has been to obtain a long-lasting disease control. However, the recent availability of new effective drugs has led to unprecedented high-quality responses and prolonged progression-free survival and overall survival. The improvement of response rates has prompted the development of new, very sensitive methods to measure residual disease, even when monoclonal components become undetectable in patients’ serum and urine. Several scientific efforts have been made to develop reliable and validated techniques to measure minimal residual disease (MRD), both within and outside the bone marrow. With the newest multidrug combinations, a good proportion of MM patients can achieve MRD negativity. Long-lasting MRD negativity may prove to be a marker of “operational cure”, although the follow-up of the currently ongoing studies is still too short to draw conclusions. In this article, we focus on results obtained with new-generation multidrug combinations in the treatment of high-risk smoldering MM and newly diagnosed MM, including the potential role of MRD and MRD-driven treatment strategies in clinical trials, in order to optimize and individualize treatment