Accelerated Photo-Induced Hydrophilicity Promotes Osseointegration: An Animal Study

Abstract

In the previous in vitro study, fluoride-modified, anodized porous titanium was proven to have enhanced its photo-induced hydrophilicity, which induced the hyperactivation of initial cell response. The purpose of the present study was to investigate in vivo bone apposition during the early stages of osseointegration in rabbit tibiae. Anodized porous titanium implants (TiU, TiUnite®, Nobel Biocare AB, Göteborg, Sweden) were modified with 0.175 wt% ammonium hydrogen fluoride solution (NH(4) F-HF(2) ). Twenty-four hours prior to the experiments, the surface-modified implants were ultraviolet-irradiated (modTiU). Blinded and unpackaged TiU implants were used as controls. Thereafter, the implants were placed in the rabbit tibial metaphyses and histomorphometrically analyzed at 2 and 6 weeks after insertion. ModTiU demonstrated a significantly greater degree of bone-to-metal contact than TiU after 2 and 6 weeks of healing. The results proved that the enhanced photo-induced hydrophilicity of the NH(4) F-HF(2) -modified anodized implants promoted bone apposition during the early stages of osseointegration.