Effect of hydroxyapatite and titania nanostructures on early in vivo bone response

Journal article, 2008

Objective: Hydroxyapatite or titania nano structures were applied on smooth titanium implant cylinders. The aim was to investigate whether nano HA may result in enhanced osseointegration compared to nano titania structures. Material and Methods: Surface topography evaluation included detailed characterization of nano size structures present at the implant surface combined with surface roughness parameters at the micro- and nano- meter level of resolution. Microstructures were removed from the surface to ensure that bone response observed was dependent only on the nanotopography and/or chemistry of the surface. Early in vivo bone response (4 weeks) evaluation was investigated in a rabbit model. Results: In the present study, nano titania coated implants showed an increased coverage area and feature density, forming a homogenous layer compared to nano HA implants. Bone response observed at 4 weeks could not be explained by the surface chemistry. New formed bone connected to the original cortical bone demonstrated an increase of 24% for the nano titania compared to the nano HA implant, although the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Thus, no evidence of enhanced bone formation to nano hydroxyapatite modified implants was observed compared to nano titania modified implants. The presence of specific nano structures; dependent on the surface modification exhibiting different size and distribution did modulate in vivo bone response.