Abstract
BackgroundTitanium (Ti)-6Al-4V alloy, which is widely used in spinal instrumentation with a pedicle screw (PS) system. However, significant clinical problems, including loosening and back-out of PSs, persist. During the last decade, a novel technology that produces bioactive Ti from chemical and heat treatments has been reported that induces the spontaneous formation of a hydroxyapatite (HA) layer on the surface of Ti materials. The purpose of this study was to study the effect of bioactivation of Ti-6Al-4V PSs on the ability of HA formation in vitro and its biocompatibility and bone-bonding ability in vivo.MethodsTi-6V-4Al alloy PSs were prepared and bioactivated by NaOH-CaCl2-heat-water treatments. The HA-forming ability of bioactive PSs in simulated body fluid (SBF) was evaluated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Six 11-month-old female beagle dogs were used for the in vivo study. Bioactive and control (without bioactivation) PSs were left and right randomly placed from L1 to L6. One and three months after surgery, lumbar spines were removed for biomechanical and histological analyses.ResultsIn vitro: The surface analysis of bioactive PSs by FE-SEM and EDX showed substantial HA deposits over the entire surface. In vivo: The mean extraction torque was significantly higher for bioactive PSs compared to controls PSs (P<0.01); there was no significant difference in pull-out strength between control and bioactive PSs. Histologically, the contact area between bone tissue and screw surface showed no significant trend to be greater in bioactive PSs compared to control PSs (P = 0.06).ConclusionsBioactive PSs prepared by chemical and heat treatments formed layers of HA on the surface of screws in vitro that improved biocompatibility and bonding ability with bone in vivo. Bioactive PSs may reduce screw loosening to overcome the obstacles confronted in spinal instrumentation surgery.
Highlights
Using spinal surgical instrumentation with a pedicle screw (PS) system has become increasingly common in spinal surgery because of its ability to achieve the rigid spinal fixation required for the treatment of degenerative spinal diseases, spinal deformity, spinal trauma and spinal tumors[1]
In vivo: The mean extraction torque was significantly higher for bioactive PSs compared to controls PSs (P
Bioactive PSs prepared by chemical and heat treatments formed layers of HA on the surface of screws in vitro that improved biocompatibility and bonding ability with bone in vivo
Summary
Using spinal surgical instrumentation with a pedicle screw (PS) system has become increasingly common in spinal surgery because of its ability to achieve the rigid spinal fixation required for the treatment of degenerative spinal diseases, spinal deformity, spinal trauma and spinal tumors[1]. To improve the safety and clinical outcome of spinal instrumentation surgeries, several strategies have been proposed for augmented PS-to-bone fixation. These include modifications in screw design and screw surfaces [8,9,10,11,12]. A novel technology using chemical and heat treatments to produce bioactivity on the surface of Ti and its alloy has been reported to induce the spontaneous formation of a surface layer of hydroxyapatite (HA) in vivo[13,14,15,16,17,18]. The purpose of this study was to study the effect of bioactivation of Ti-6Al-4V PSs on the ability of HA formation in vitro and its biocompatibility and bone-bonding ability in vivo.
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