Bone growth around silicon nitride implants—An evaluation by scanning electron microscopy

Ceramics and ceramic coatings in orthopaedics

“…Anderson et al showed osseous penetration of up to 3 mm in ∼72% porous Si 3 N 4 with excellent vascularization twelve weeks after implantation in an ovine model [105]. Similar studies by Guedes e Silva et al showed good boney apposition for Si 3 N 4 samples in rabbits evaluated eight weeks after implantation [103,104]. In Wistar rats, Webster et al compared the osseointegration of Si 3 N 4 , PEEK, and titanium, reporting that Si 3 N 4 had improved osseointegration over the other two biomaterials at alltime points up to 3 months post-operatively, both under aseptic conditions and when implants were pre-inoculated with 10 4 S. epidermidis [106].…”

“…Si 3 N 4 has been shown to be biocompatible, possessing favorable cell interaction characteristics [83,84,[97][98][99][100][101][102]. These and other studies indicate that porous or unpolished Si 3 N 4 osteointegrates with adjacent bone [102][103][104][105][106] and exhibits bacteriostasis [106,107] . In its dense and polished form, it has been shown to produce implants with exceptionally low wear rates [108][109][110][111][112][113][114][115][116][117][118].…”

Rabbits as Animal Models in Contemporary Implant Biomaterial Research

“…Silicon nitride has also been tested as a potential candidate for clinical applications. 20 After placing SiN implants in rabbit tibiae for 8 weeks and evaluating the newly formed bone around the implants, it was said that SiN can be used as a biomaterial. Recently, the applicability of fiber reinforced composites (FRC) with porous structure as an implant material has been studied.…”

The Rationale for Silicon Nitride Bearings in Orthopaedic Applications

“…60 New bone forms even in the cortical region of the rabbit tibia, and around silicon nitride implants, suggesting that the material is osteoconductive, and promotes stable osseous fixation. 61 …”