The Effect of Atmospheric Plasma-Sprayed Peek Implants on Osseointegration

Abstract

Objectives:The study evaluated the osseointegration of atmospheric plasma treated PEEK implant surfaces versus the untreated PEEK surfaces. Material & Methods:The PEEK implants were milled using carbon reinforced PEEK material with CAD-CAM milling machine. The implants were placed in 6 male mongrel dogs, each dog received 2 groups of PEEK implants. The control group consisted of untreated surface PEEK implants. The study group consisted of atmospheric plasma-sprayed PEEK implants. the implants were placed in the dog femur. After 12 weeks, the animals were sacrificed, and boneimplant sections were obtained for histological evaluations and bone-to-implant contact. Electron microscope scanning was performed to assess the topography of the surface of treated and untreated PEEK implant surface.Results: Qualitative evaluation of the stained histological sections of the PEEK implants demonstrated a well distributed bone in proximity to the atmospheric plasma-sprayed PEEK implant surface after 12 weeks of placements. The bone-to-implant contact showed a significant difference (P < 0.001) between treated and untreated PEEK implant surface. Conclusions:Within the limitation of the present study, it is concluded that the atmospheric plasma-sprayed surface treatment may improve the osseointegration of PEEK implant.

Current surface modification strategies to improve the binding efficiency of emerging biomaterial polyetheretherketone (PEEK) with bone and soft tissue: A literature review

“…The surface of PEEK is relatively smooth, and many researchers have attempted to increase its surface roughness to enhance its biological activity. Mahrous et al [42] treated PEEK with atmospheric plasma spraying and increased its surface roughness. In vivo, the results showed that the plasmasprayed PEEK implant had a higher percentage of bone-implant contact than untreated PEEK.…”