In a study model that aims to evaluate the effect of nanotopography on bone formation, micrometer structures known to alter bone formation, should be removed. Electropolished titanium implants were prepared to obtain a surface topography in the absence of micro structures, thereafter the implants were divided in two groups. The test group was modified with nanosize hydroxyapatite particles; the other group was left uncoated and served as control for the experiment. Topographical evaluation demonstrated increased nanoroughness parameters for the nano-HA implant and higher surface porosity compared to the control implant. The detected features had increased size and diameter equivalent to the nano-HA crystals present in the solution and the relative frequency of the feature size and diameter was very similar. Furthermore, feature density per microm(2) showed a decrease of 13.5% on the nano-HA implant. Chemical characterization revealed calcium and phosphorous ions on the modified implants, whereas the control implants consisted of pure titanium oxide. Histological evaluation demonstrated significantly increased bone formation to the coated (p < 0.05) compared to uncoated implants after 4 weeks of healing. These findings indicate for the first time that early bone formation is dependent on the nanosize hydroxyapatite features, but we are unaware if we see an isolated effect of the chemistry or of the nanotopography or a combination of both.

Early bone response to cylindrical smooth titanium implants (S(a)=0.1 microm) inserted into the rabbit tibia was compared in a stable and nonstable regime. Surface roughness parameters were calculated from measurements obtained with optical interferometry and atomic force microscopy. Contrary to our hypothesis, the nonstable implant showed higher bone to metal contact and increased bone area in the endosteal region compared with the stable implant after 4 weeks of healing. Bone area measurements in the cortical region revealed similar values. Primitive woven bone was found in close contact with both implants, but significantly more with the nonstable implant. Finding more bone-to-implant contact (BIC) need not necessarily indicate that unstable implants were more strongly integrated. Primitive bone stage development observed indicates less strong implant anchorage than could be expected from BIC percentage alone. Stable implant design used in this study is a reliable model to evaluate submicron and nanostructures in vivo, as implant stability was achieved in the absence of microirregularaties.

The current study indicates that the presence of open scaffold microporosity in HA, as determined by the fabrication process, enhances the ability of ceramic scaffolds to promote bone ingrowth and bone contact.

Nanohydroxyapatite materials show similar chemistry to the bone apatite and depending on the underlying topography and the method of preparation, the nanohydroxyapatite may simulate the specific arrangement of the crystals in bone. Hydroxyapatite (HA) and other CaP materials have been indicated in cases in which the optimal surgical fit is not achievable during surgery, and the HA surface properties may enhance bone filling of the defect area. In this study, very smooth electropolished titanium implants were used as substrata for nano-HA surface modification and as control. One of each implant (control and nano HA) was placed in the rabbit tibia in a surgical site 0.7 mm wider than the implant diameter, resulting in a gap of 0.35 mm on each implant side. Implant stability was ensured by a fixating plate fastened with two side screws. Topographical evaluation performed with an optical interferometer revealed the absence of microstructures on both implants and higher resolution evaluation with AFM showed similar nanoroughness parameters. Surface pores detected on the AFM measurements had similar diameter, depth, and surface porosity (%). Histological evaluation demonstrated similar bone formation for the nano HA and electropolished implants after 4 weeks of healing. These results do not support that nano-HA chemistry and nanotopography will enhance bone formation when placed in a gap-healing model. The very smooth surface may have prevented optimal activity of the material and future studies may evaluate the synergic effects of the surface chemistry, micro, and nanotopography, establishing the optimal parameters for each of them.

No abstract