Abstract
Porous titanium fabricated by the resin-impregnated titanium substitute technique has good mechanical strength and osteoconduction. The alkali treatment of the titanium surface creates a bioactive surface. Alkali-treated porous titanium is expected to accelerate bone formation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the bone reconstruction ability of alkali-treated porous titanium. Porous titanium (85% porosity) was treated with an alkali solution (5 N NaOH, 24 h). To assess material properties, we analyzed the surface structure by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mechanical strength testing. To assess bioactivity, each sample was soaked in a simulated body fluid (Hank's solution) for 7 days. Surface observations, weight change ratio measurement (after/before being soaked in Hank's solution) and surface elemental analysis were performed. We also designed an in vivo study with rabbit femurs. After 2 and 3 weeks of implantation, histological observations and histomorphometric bone formation ratio analysis were performed. All data were statistically analyzed using a Student's t-test (P < 0.05) (this study was approved by the Hiroshima University animal experiment ethics committee: A11-5-5). Non-treated porous titanium (control) appeared to have a smooth surface and the alkali-treated porous titanium (ATPT) had a nano-sized needle-like rough surface. ATPT had similar mechanical strength to that of the control. After soaking into the Hank's solution, we observed apatite-like crystals in the SEM image, weight gain, and high Ca and P contents in ATPT. There was significant bone formation at an early stage in ATPT compared with that in control. It was suggested that the alkali-treated porous titanium had a bioactive surface and induced bone reconstruction effectively. This novel bioactive porous titanium can be expected to be a good bone reconstruction material.
Highlights
Porous metallic structures are excellent osteoconductive materials and can be used for bone reconstruction owing to their interconnected porous structure, which can promote angiogenesis and migration of bone-producing cells
It is difficult to apply this material for large bone defects under overload because of insufficient mechanical strength
Porous titanium is widely applied in orthopedic and dental elds because it has good biocompatibility[6] and can avoid the stress-shielding effects compared to bulk titanium.[7]
Summary
Porous metallic structures are excellent osteoconductive materials and can be used for bone reconstruction owing to their interconnected porous structure, which can promote angiogenesis and migration of bone-producing cells. It is difficult to apply this material for large bone defects under overload because of insufficient mechanical strength To overcome these limitations, we chose porous titanium.[1,2,3,4,5] Porous titanium is widely applied in orthopedic and dental elds because it has good biocompatibility[6] and can avoid the stress-shielding effects compared to bulk titanium.[7] The optimal structure for bone formation requires uniform pores in the range of 200–500 mm;[3,5,8] this enables the colonization of osteoblasts and broblasts and vascular ingrowth of osteoconduction.
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