Light and electron microscopic studies of bone‐titanium interface in the tibiae of young and mature rats

Abstract

Bone-titanium contact was examined in young and mature rats on various days after insertion of pure titanium into the tibia. Under light microscopy, on the 14th day, lamellar mature bone was initially formed, and was seen to make direct contact with the titanium in both groups. In young rats on the 28th day, bone-titanium contact was greater than that in mature animals. On I-pm sections, an amorphous zone 0.5-1.0 p m thick was found around the titanium, and a slender cell layer lay parallel to the implant, forming the superficial layer of the amorphous zone. Ultrastructurally, these slender cells were identified as osteoblastlike cells and made direct contact with the implant via a 20-50-nm thin amorphous zone. Below this cell layer, a collagen-containing, poorly mineralized zone was present and bordered by lamellar bone with a lamina limitans-like structure. However, this cell layer was absent in places, and therefore the thick amorphous zone without slender cell layer consisted ultrastructurally of a 20-50-nm thin amorphous zone and a poorly mineralized zone bordered by the lamellar bone. Sometimes this poorly mineralized zone was absent, and in such cases, the lamellar bone contacted the titanium by the thin amorphous zone formed on the lamina limitans-like structure. Thus, although bone was seen to make contact with the titanium implant, ultrastructurally a 20-50-nm thin amorphous zone, a slender cell layer, and/or a poorly mineralized zone were interposed between the bone and titanium. 0 1996

Biofunctionalization of Metallic Materials: Creation of Biosis–Abiosis Intelligent Interface

“…In addition, this lamina limitans seems to consist of osteopontin and α2 HS-glycoprotein [28]. Recently, osteoblast-like cells made direct contact with titanium via a 20-50 nm thin amorphous zone is shown [29]. A 20-50 nm thin amorphous zone, a slender cell layer, and/or a poorly mineralized zone were interposed between bone and titanium.…”

Biomechanical and histological evaluation of the osseointegration capacity of two types of zirconia implant

“…Murai et al 45 also reported that osteoblasts were in direct contact with the titanium surface via a thin amorphous zone formed on slender osteoblast-like cells. In this study, the osteoblasts formed close and perpendicular contact with the zirconia-implant surface, and their reactivity to the zirconia implant was similar to that to the titanium implant.…”

An Ultrastructural Study of the Bone-titanium Interface Using Pure Titanium-coated Plastic and Pure Titanium Rod Implants.

“…Therefore, it is considered to be important to confirm whether or not the amorphous layer (zone) really contains GAGs. Thus, the aims of the present study are 1) to ultrastructurally observe the interface, in particular the amorphous zone, between the bone and coated titanium in 6-week-old rats on the 28th day after the insertion of the titanium (the use of these rats is based on the data obtained from previous studies [8,12,22] in which the bone-implant contact was found to reach a maximum on the 28th day), 2) to identify the presence of the ruthenium red-positive amorphous zone, and 3) to compare the differences between the bone-coated titanium interface and the bone-titanium rod interface.…”

“…On the other hand, Listgarten et al [11] did not show the presence of such an amorphous layer (zone), whereas Serre et al [18] reported the interposition of a loose extracellular matrix with fibrillar or non fibrillar materials instead of an amorphous layer (zone). Thus, although the findings regarding the presence of an amorphous layer remain controversial, we support the presence of an amorphous layer (zone), because we recently found a 20-40 nm-thick amorphous zone at the bone-titanium interface [12]. Unfortunately, the method used in this study has one main drawback; the titanium rod must be removed from the bone since it is impossible to directly cut the titanium rod-containing specimens, and such detachment of the implant from the specimen may possibly destroy the bone-titanium interface.…”